Net sales exceed $2 billion, diluted EPS of $2.36

UFP Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq: UFPI) today announced second quarter 2023 results including net sales of $2.04 billion, net earnings attributable to controlling interest of $151 million, and earnings per diluted share of $2.36.

“I want to thank the hard-working employees of UFP Industries for delivering another strong quarter. Their focus on innovation, efficiencies, and value-added solutions has helped us improve our gross margins, even as lower pricing and volume resulted in decreases in our top- and bottom-line results,” said Chairman and CEO Matt Missad. “The positive changes in our business mix and operating structure are producing better performance when compared to previous downward cycles in our business. Our strong cash-flow generation and balance sheet allow us to continue to invest in operational improvements and growing the business through new products and acquisitions, all while returning value to our shareholders. On July 26, 2023, the Board approved a 20 percent increase in the quarterly cash dividend to $0.30 per share and increased the share repurchase authorization to $200 million.”

Second Quarter 2023 Highlights (comparisons on a year-over-year basis):

• Net sales of $2.04 billion decreased 30 percent due to a 22 percent decrease in prices and an 8 percent decrease in organic unit sales.
• New product sales of $184 million decreased 9 percent, largely due to lower lumber prices that the company passed on to customers. New product sales as a percent of total sales rose to 9 percent from 7 percent in 2022.
• Diluted EPS of $2.36 represents a 27 percent decrease from last year.
• Adjusted EBITDA of $234 million decreased 27 percent; adjusted EBITDA margin rose to 11.5 percent from 11 percent in 2022.

Capital Allocation

UFP Industries maintains a strong balance sheet, with $424.9 million in net surplus cash (surplus cash less interest-bearing debt and cash overdraft) on July 1, 2023, compared to $190.7 million in net debt at the end of the second quarter of 2022. The company had approximately $2 billion of liquidity as of July 1, 2023. The company’s return-focused approach to capital allocation includes the following:

• Acquisitions. The company continues to seek acquisitions in core businesses that generate long-term growth and margin improvement, enhance its capabilities, and create incremental value for customers and shareholders.
• Capital expenditures. The company lowered its target for capital investments to $175-200 million in 2023 due to longer lead times required for most equipment and rolling stock. The company plans to double the production capacity of the popular Deckorators mineral-based composite (MBC) decking by investing approximately $31 million in upgrades.
• Dividend payments. On July 26, 2023, the Board of Directors for UFP Industries approved a quarterly dividend payment of $0.30 per share, a 20 percent increase over the dividend paid in the first quarter of 2023. The dividend is payable on September 15, 2023, to shareholders of record on September 1, 2023.
• Share repurchases. The company repurchased 700,597 shares during the first half of 2023 at an average share price of $79.20 (a total of $55.5 million). At their July 26 meeting, the Board of Directors authorized up to $200 million for share repurchases through July 31, 2024.

By business segment, the company reported the following second-quarter 2023 results:

UFP Retail Solutions

Net sales of $920 million, down 18 percent compared to the second quarter of 2022, attributable to an 18 percent decline in selling prices due to the pricing decreases in the lumber market. While below our target level, gross profit of $121 million improved 65 percent compared to the second quarter of 2022 and gross profit margin improved to 13.2 percent from 6.5 percent, primarily due to increased sales of new Deckorators products and the impact of products sold with a variable price such as treated lumber. These variable-priced products benefited from a more stabilized lumber market compared to 2022, when a significant decrease in lumber prices during the second quarter adversely impacted gross profit.

UFP Packaging

Net sales of $488 million, down 28 percent compared to the second quarter of 2022, due to a 21 percent decrease in selling prices, a 9 percent decline in organic unit sales, and a 2 percent increase in sales from acquisitions. Gross profit was $118.2 million, down 27 percent, due to normalizing market pricing and a decline in volume that is in line with market conditions. Gross profit margin remained mostly unchanged at 24 percent due to the segment’s focus on value-added sales and new products. Value-added sales increased to 78 percent of total net sales compared to 71 percent for the second quarter of 2022. New product sales as a percent of total net sales increased to 14.9 percent from 10.6 percent during the same period of 2022.

UFP Construction

Net sales of $550 million, down 44 percent compared to the second quarter of 2022, due to a 26 percent decrease in selling prices and an 18 percent decrease in organic unit sales. Gross profit was $137.2 million, down 40 percent, largely due to normalizing market pricing and a decrease in volume as a result of a decline in housing starts and industry production of manufactured homes. Gross profit margin improved to 25 percent from 23 percent in 2022.

CONFERENCE CALL

UFP Industries will conduct a conference call to discuss its outlook and information included in this news release at 4:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, August 2, 2023. The call will be hosted by Chairman and CEO Matthew J. Missad and CFO Michael Cole and will be available simultaneously and in its entirety to all interested investors and news media through a webcast at www.ufpinvestor.com/news-filings-reports. A replay of the call will be available through the website.

UFP Industries, Inc.

UFP Industries is a holding company whose operating subsidiaries – UFP Packaging, UFP Construction and UFP Retail Solutions – manufacture, distribute and sell a wide variety of value-added products used in residential and commercial construction, packaging and other industrial applications worldwide. Founded in 1955, the company is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., with affiliates in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. UFP Industries is ranked #403 on the Fortune 500 and #149 on Industry Week’s list of America’s Largest Manufacturers. For more about UFP Industries, go to www.ufpi.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act, as amended, that are based on management’s beliefs, assumptions, current expectations, estimates and projections about the markets we serve, the economy and the Company itself. Words like “anticipates,” “believes,” “confident,” “estimates,” “expects,” “forecasts,” “likely,” “plans,” “projects,” “should,” variations of such words, and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. These statements do not guarantee future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict with regard to timing, extent, likelihood and degree of occurrence. The Company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect facts, circumstances, events, or assumptions that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made. Actual results could differ materially from those included in such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainty. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements are the following: fluctuations in the price of lumber; adverse or unusual weather conditions; adverse economic conditions in the markets we serve; government regulations, particularly involving environmental and safety regulations; and our ability to make successful business acquisitions. Certain of these risk factors as well as other risk factors and additional information are included in the Company's reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission

Non-GAAP Financial Information

This release includes certain financial information not prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Because not all companies calculate non-GAAP financial information identically (or at all), the presentations herein may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other companies. Management uses Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure, in order to evaluate historical and ongoing operations. Management believes that this non-GAAP financial measure is useful in order to enable investors to perform meaningful comparisons of historical and current performance. Adjusted EBITDA is intended to supplement and should be read together with the financial results. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered an alternative or substitute for, and should not be considered superior to, the reported financial results. Accordingly, users of this financial information should not place undue reliance on the non-GAAP financial measure.

Net earnings

Net earnings refers to net earnings attributable to controlling interest unless specifically noted.