11:03 AM EDT, 04/11/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Richelieu Hardware Ltd. ( RHUHF ) was at last look down more than 4% on Thursday after reporting its Q1 2024 results.

The company recorded quarterly consolidated sales of $407 million, a 1% increase over Q1 2023's $403 million. The latest number includes growth of 0.5% in Canada for sales of $232.1 million and 1.7% in the United States for sales of $129.9 million, representing 43.0% of total sales.

It reported net earnings attributable to shareholders of $15.2 million, down 31.2% from Q1 2023. Including non-controlling interests, net earnings attributable to the corporation's shareholders were $15.2M, down 32.1% from Q1 2023. Net earnings per basic and diluted share were $0.27 for Q1 2024, compared with $0.40 per diluted share last year, a decrease of 32.5%.

A quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share payable on May 9, was declared.

Richard Lord, president and CEO, said, "We began fiscal 2024 with sales equivalent to those of the first quarter of 2023 - a good result since sales in the comparable period of 2023 continued to benefit from favorable market conditions. It should also be noted that the first quarter is historically the weakest period of the year. We have seen the benefits of our recent acquisitions and market development initiatives supported by our strategies of value-added service, innovation, and diversification of customer segments.

"Despite the significant reduction in our inventories in 2023, we still have some inventories purchased at higher than current cost. Selling these inventories at market prices has had a negative impact on gross margin. This situation will gradually be resolved as those products are reordered. We completed several expansion and modernization projects over the past year and also launched our brand-new Calgary centre last December. The start-up and development of these centres, in addition to being impacted by current market conditions, also affected the EBITDA margin downwards. In terms of acquisitions, we are very pleased with the three companies acquired since the beginning of the fiscal year, which are expected to contribute approximately $60 million in annual sales."

Price: 39.54, Change: -1.71, Percent Change: -4.15