Thanks to improved market conditions and strong marketing of impact-resistant products, Florida-based PGT Inc. reported a profit of USD 5.3 million in the first quarter, with sales rising by 30%.
Florida-based PGT Inc., manufacturer of hurricane-resistant windows and doors, reported a profit of USD 5.3 million in the first quarter, with sales rising by 30%.
According to Rod Hershberger, CEO of PGT, this was due to improved market conditions and strong marketing of the company’s impact-resistant products.
The profit equated to 9 cents per share and compared with a loss of USD 652,000, or a penny per share, in the first quarter of 2012.
Sales were almost USD 50 million, compared to USD 38 million during the same time last year.
“Improved market conditions during the quarter, and sales and marketing programmes focused on our WinGuard products, drove this dramatic increase in top-line sales,” said Hershberger.
Sales of the company’s impact-resistant products rose 39% compared to 2012, and represented 77% of total sales, while sales of non-impact-resistant products grew by 8%.
A gain of USD 2 million on the sale of the company’s Salisbury, N.C., plant, after consolidating its operations in Venice, also affected into PGT’s rising profits.
PGT has added 159 new employees since the beginning of 2013, and now employs about 1,150 at its manufacturing, glass laminating and tempering plants in Florida.
At the end of the quarter, PGT had a cash balance of USD 14.3 million and had acquired about 1.07 million shares of its common stock. That was an average cost of USD 5.67 per share, for a total investment of about USD 6.1 million.