Grand Rapids, MI, April 12--Universal Forest Products, a maker of lumber for house construction, industrial uses and flooring, said its first-quarter profit surged 66 percent as selling prices for lumber climbed.
The company earned $9.2 million, or 49 cents per share, in the January-March period, up from $5.6 million, or 30 cents per share, a year earlier.
Sales rose 15 percent to $537.2 million from $465.7 million as volume increased 9 percent and the lumber market drove prices higher. The company said site-built construction revenue rose 32 percent to $151.9 million. Still, do-it-yourself/retail revenue, Universal's core business, decreased slightly to $177.6 million. The company attributed this decline to its effort to diversify its customer base, along with a late spring in the Northeast and Midwest.
Industrial revenue rose 17 percent to $111.3 million and manufactured housing sales increased 25 percent to $96.3 million.
Looking ahead, Universal reiterated that unit sales will grow 7 percent to 12 percent in 2005 and said that earnings will increase 10 percent to 15 percent from 2004. The company earned $48.6 million, or $2.59 per share, last year.
