BlueLinx Holdings reported $4.45 billion in total sales in the year ending December 2022, providing $296.18 million in net income or $31.51 per share. There is some noise in time series comparisons as the Company makes a shift in fiscal year end from January to December. Nonetheless, it is clear the Company is growing through capture of new market share as well as more of their customers’ wallets. A wholesaler of residential and commercial building products, BlueLinx is taking advantage of strong economic recovery in the U.S. The Company sells a mix of third-party and private-label products to home centers and other retailers as well as specialty distributors and industrial manufacturers, among others. While the gross margin expanded by 50 basis points in 2022, over the prior year, increased operating expenses cut into the operating profit margin. Operations generated $400.3 million in cash flow in the year, with realization of payments on outstanding accounts receivable providing 25%.
Throughout the current year 2023, BlueLinx will get a boost from the recent acquisition of Vandermeer Forest Products, a wholesale distributor of building products in the Pacific Northwest. The deal gave BlueLinx a coast-to-coast footprint in all fifty states, which we expect to be pivotal in elevating the Company’s visibility among its customers. The Company was left with $298.94 million in cash resources at the end of December 2023. With $292.42 million in long-term debt, BlueLinx has debt-to-equity ratio of 49.49. That said, healthy profit margins and strong cash flow generation is supportive of leverage.
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