"The HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams paint program at Lowe's began shipping late in the quarter and will be in all Lowe's stores by May 1," Chairman and CEO Chris Connor said.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Sherwin-Williams Co. posted record paint sales for the first quarter of 2015, with sales up 3.5 percent to $2.45 billion, and profits up 21.1 percent to a record $1.38 per share.
The Cleveland-based paint and coatings company, whose brands include Dutch Boy, Minwax and Krylon, said net sales grew by $83.7 million for the first three months of the year. At stores open at least a year, a key metric for retailers called same-store sales, net sales grew 6.4 percent.
Other highlights from Thursday's earnings report:
1. Diluted net income per common share increased to $1.38 per share, from $1.14 per share for the first quarter of 2014.
2. Net sales in its Paint Store Group rose 7.5 percent to $1.146 billion, because of higher sales of architectural paint for homes, offices and buildings. The company opened seven net new paint stores during the quarter.
3. Net sales in its Consumer Group rose 8.1 percent to $351.7 million, helped by the first shipments of HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams brand paint to Lowe's stores.
HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams, available at Sherwin-Williams 4,010 paint stores, Lowe's 1,835 stores and at Lowes.com, includes interior and exterior paints and 16 designer-inspired coordinating color palettes, eight of which are exclusive to Lowe's. The two companies announced the new product line last December.
4. Net sales in the Global Finishes Group declined 5.6 percent to $469.6 million, largely because of unfavorable currency rates.
5. Net sales in the Latin American Coatings Group decreased 8.9 percent to $166.2 million, also hurt by currency rates but partially helped by higher selling prices.
6. For the second quarter of 2015, Sherwin-Williams expects sales to grow 6 percent to 8 percent, and diluted earnings-per-share to increase between $3.70 and $3.90.
7. For all of 2015, Sherwin-Williams expects net sales to grow by "a high single-digit percentage," and diluted earnings-per-share of $10.90 t0 $11.10 per share, compared to only $8.78 per share last year.
"The HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams paint program at Lowe's began shipping late in the quarter and will be in all Lowe's stores by May 1," said Chairman and Chief Executive Chris Connor, in a statement. "Our Global Finishes and Latin America Coatings Groups are managing through the negative effects of currency devaluation and weak end market demand in some geographies. In total, it is gratifying to report another quarter of record sales and earnings per share."
Shares of Sherwin-Williams closed at $283.81 in Thursday's trading, down $4.92 or 2 percent, from Wednesday's close of $288.73 on the New York Stock Exchange.