Public companies report weakening sales - home center and building supply companies first half revenue figures - Statistical Data Included

Home Channel News, Sept 3, 2001

NATIONAL REPORT -- With all of the grim 2001 forecasts made by various economists and doomsayers throughout the year, it might come as a surprise to read the following chart and find that only 12 of the 41 home improvement-related companies listed suffered a loss for the first six months of the year. And one of those 12 companies, Cleveland-based DIY Home Warehouse, is in the process of shutting its doors permanently. The bad news for retailers is that six of the 12 companies who reported a six-month net loss were dealers or dealer-owned co-ops: TruServ, Payless Cashways, Wickes, HomeBase, Sodisco-Howden and DIY Home Warehouse.

In terms of revenues, however, the industry's publicly traded companies did not fare as well. The strong -- such as Home Depot, Lowe's, Masco and Universal Forest Products -- continued their growth, but the majority of firms, 28 out of 41, reported sales declines through the first two quarters.

But six months into 2001, most remain in the black
(Six-month financial performance of leading public companies)
                                                     6-mo. income
                              6-mo. sales   % chg.     in 2001
Company                        ($ mil.)    vs. 2000    ($ mil.)
Home Depot (R)                 26,776.0      12.8      1,556.0
International Paper (M)        13,600.0      3.0       (357.0)
Georgia-Pacific (M/D)          12,920.0      16.3      (108.0)
Lowe's (R)                     11,403.0      17.2       554.4
Weyerhaeuser (M/D)              7,405.0     (8.7)       278.0
Whirlpool (M)                   5,101.0     (1.4)        94.0
Masca(M)                        3,996.0      10.5       254.0
American Standard (M)           3,830.0      2.0        185.0
Boise Cascade (M/D)             3,791.0     (4.5)       (15.8)
Newell-Rubbermaid (M)           3,335.4     (2.4)       110.4
Sherwin-Williams (M/R)          2,565.9     (3.2)       127.4
Owens Corning (M)               2,306.0     (9.6)        19.0
Cooper Industries (M)           2,168.1     (1.8)       124.4
Black & Decker (M)              2,049.4     (5.3)        74.8
KB Homes (HB)                   1,888.0      10.7        65.3
Centex Corp. (HB)               1,709.1      19.0        75.2
USG Corp. (M)                   1,632.0     (17.7)      (2.0)
Armstrong Holdings (M)          1,465.1     (4.1)       (52.4)
Ace Hardware (D)                1,451.8     (3.7)        27.2
TruServ Corp. (D)               1,400.0     (35.2)      (11.4)
Pentair (M)                     1,373.5     (0.58)       49.1
Stanley Works (M)               1,302.7     (6.8)        97.3
Louisiana Pacific (M/D)         1,208.3     (27.3)      (99.1)
General Cable (M)               1,114.5     (4.0)        26.7
Potlatch Corp. (M)               900.5      (3.9)       (41.2)
West Fraser Timber (M)           791.0      (0.6)         60
Universal Forest Pdts. (D)       771.0       4.8         19.2
Emco (M/D)                       603.2       1.8         0.55
Dai-Tile (M/R)                   509.0       7.1         36.5
Payless Cashways (R)             471.3      (38.7)      (58.1)
Huttig Building Products (D)     466.8      (17.7)       4.5
Wickes, Inc. (R)                 458.9      (7.6)       (5.5)
Slocan Forest Products (M)       425.6      (14.6)       5.3
HomeBase (R)                     411.0      (46.8)     (167.3)
Plum Creek Timber (M)            319.0      184.5        68.1
Hines Horticulture (D)           305.5       6.5         22.1
Sodisco-Howden (D)               192.4      (13.0)      (0.59)
Water Pik Technologies (M)       129.6      (10.5)       2.5
Wolohan Lumber (R)               112.0      (29.0)       0.68
Norwall Group (M)                36.4       (11.5)       1.9
DIY Home Warehouse (R)           32.9       (24.0)      (17.8)
                              6-mo. income
                                in 2000
Company                         ($ mil.)    Notes
Home Depot (R)                  1,466.0
International Paper (M)          648.0        1
Georgia-Pacific (M/D)            400.0        2
Lowe's (R)                       466.7
Weyerhaeuser (M/D)               447.0        3
Whirlpool (M)                    233.0
Masca(M)                         359.4
American Standard (M)            168.0
Boise Cascade (M/D)               70.6        4
Newell-Rubbermaid (M)            204.2
Sherwin-Williams (M/R)           156.8
Owens Corning (M)               (377.0)
Cooper Industries (M)            176.8
Black & Decker (M)               143.2
KB Homes (HB)                     91.2
Centex Corp. (HB)                 48.2        5
USG Corp. (M)                    199.0
Armstrong Holdings (M)            38.2
Ace Hardware (D)                  39.9        6
TruServ Corp. (D)                 3.0         7
Pentair (M)                       68.7
Stanley Works (M)                 98.8
Louisiana Pacific (M/D)          100.5
General Cable (M)                 20.1
Potlatch Corp. (M)               (7.0)
West Fraser Timber (M)             83         8
Universal Forest Pdts. (D)        19.0
Emco (M/D)                        1.8         9
Dai-Tile (M/R)                    46.9
Payless Cashways (R)             (3.7)       10
Huttig Building Products (D)      8.6
Wickes, Inc. (R)                 (1.7)
Slocan Forest Products (M)        52.4       11
HomeBase (R)                     (0.24)      12
Plum Creek Timber (M)            101.6       13
Hines Horticulture (D)            25.4       14
Sodisco-Howden (D)                5.9        15
Water Pik Technologies (M)        3.6
Wolohan Lumber (R)                0.26
Norwall Group (M)                 2.5        16
DIY Home Warehouse (R)           (1.4)       17