Although discretionary purchases have been soft lately for some retailers, Ace Hardware Corp. managed a solid quarter with comp sales and income gains.
For the second quarter, the cooperative posted a net income of $126.7 million versus $124.8 million in the year-prior period.
Ace retailers who share daily retail sales data with the company reported a 0.4% increase in retail comparable sales during the quarter year over year resulting from a 1.1% advance in comp transactions partially offset by a 0.8% decrease in average ticket.
Revenues were $2.63 billion versus $2.53 billion the year-previous quarter, Ace maintained. Wholesale revenue increased to $2.37 billion and retailer revenue advanced to $260.7 billion versus $2.28 billion and $258 million, respectively, in the year-before period. Operating income was $141 million versus $132.3 million in the year-past quarter.
Ace said it saw revenue gains across a majority of departments with lawn and garden, paint and grilling showing the largest increases. Digital operations made a positive contribution to revenues, too.
“A 45% increase in visits to acehardware.com drove an 18% increase in our digital business, a 3% increase in-store visits, and an encouraging 1.1% increase in same-store transactions during the quarter,” said John Venhuizen, Ace president and CEO. “I’m very proud of the Ace team for delivering a 3.9% increase in revenue and a 6.6% increase in operating income within a difficult environment for retailers of durable goods.”
