Masco Profit Tops Estimate

(RTTNews) - Home improvement and building products company Masco Corp. (MAS) said Monday after the markets closed that its second quarter profit jumped 78% from last year, as revenue increased and margins improved amid strong performance of its Plumbing Products, Installation and Other Services and Decorative Architectural Products segments.

The company's quarterly earnings per share, excluding items, also came in above analysts' expectations.

"We delivered a solid second quarter marked by revenue growth and strong profitability," said Masco's President and CEO, Keith Allman. "Our focus on our key priorities, which include growing share of our market-leading brands, accelerating our customer-focused innovation pipeline, further penetrating international markets and driving operational leverage through cost containment, was demonstrated in our performance despite a more moderate housing recovery."

Masco shares are currently gaining 4.79% in after hours trading after closing the day's regular trading session at $20.27, down 63 cents or 3.01%. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $18.27 to $23.73.

For the second quarter ended June 30, 2014, the company reported net income of $139 million or $0.39 per share, compared to $78 million or $0.22 per share for the year-ago quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings per share increased to $0.32 from $0.23 per share in the prior year quarter.

On average, 24 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.28 per share for the second quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Gross margin for the quarter improved to 29.2% from 28.3% a year earlier, while adjusted gross margin increased to 29.2% from 28.9% last year.

Operating margin for the quarter improved to 10.6% from 8.7% a year ago, while adjusted operating margin increased to 11.0% from 9.6% last year.

Net sales for the second quarter rose 5% to $2.26 billion from $2.15 billion in the same quarter last year. Twenty analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $2.26 billion for the second quarter.

The company's North American sales for the quarter increased 4%, while its international sales rose 9% from a year earlier.

Segment wise, Plumbing Products' net sales increased 6%, while Decorative Architectural Products' net sales grew 5% and Installation and Other Services' net sales climbed 8%, while Cabinets and Related Products' net sales fell 5%. Other Specialty Products' net sales surged 11%.

"As we move into the third quarter, we continue to see growing demand for our products and services across our end markets. Our outlook remains positive with the belief that new home construction and repair and remodel activity will show steady growth in 2014," said CEO Allman.