Taylor-based home improvement and building design, manufacturing, and distribution company Masco Corp. reported sales for 2016 increased 3 percent to $7.4 billion and the company’s operating profit increased 15 percent to $1.053 million.
The operating profit margin for the year increased to 14.3 percent, a 150 basis point expansion, and adjusted operating profit margin increased to 14.6 percent, a 160 basis point expansion. Similarly, the earnings per share from continuing operations for the year grew 43 percent to $1.47 per common share, with adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations grew 27 percent to $1.51 per common share.
On a reported basis, net sales from continuing operations increased 3 percent to $7.4 billion from 2015, and North American sales increased 3 percent, while international sales increased 6 percent in local currencies. Similarly, gross margin improved to 33.4 percent, from 31.5 percent in 2015, while operating margin increased to 14.3 percent from 12.8 percent in 2015. Income from continuing operations was $1.47 per common share compared to $1.03 per common share in 2015 as well. The company’s free cash flow was $535 million.
Keith Allman, Masco’s president and CEO says 2016 was a “strong” year for Masco.
“We continued to execute against our long-term growth and capital allocation strategies that we established in 2015. We demonstrated our ability to capitalize on improving end markets by driving sales growth and expanding our operating margin,” he says. “We successfully executed our plan to reduce leverage by paying down approximately $400 million in debt early in the year, further strengthening our balance sheet. Lastly, we generated a significant amount of free cash flow and continued our commitment to return capital to shareholders by increasing our dividend and repurchasing $459 million of our shares, enabling us to once again generate solid returns for our shareholders. We will continue to execute our strategy and remain confident in our ability to drive growth and productivity as we move into 2017.”
