Home improvement products maker Masco forecasts annual profit above estimates
Feb 8 (Reuters) - Homebuilding products maker Masco on Thursday forecast fiscal 2024 profit above Wall Street estimates, betting on margin benefit from higher prices coupled with easing costs of freight and commodities like container and paint.
Shares of Michigan-based company, which rose 44% last year, were up nearly 4% in premarket trading.
The paint products maker expects annual adjusted profit per share between $4.00 and $4.25, compared with analysts' average estimates of $3.97 per share.
An increase in prices for its big-ticket product categories like flooring, cabinets and other home decor items helped the company in boosting its margins.
Masco's fourth-quarter gross profit margin rose 640 basis points to 34.7%.
With resilient demand for its small-ticket categories like roofing, painting and rough plumbing, similar to its partner Home Depot, bolstered Masco's sales, despite higher prices.
The company posted net sales of $1.88 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with analysts' estimates of $1.79 billion, according to LSEG data.
"For the full-year 2023, we achieved strong adjusted operating margin expansion of 120 basis points through disciplined pricing and improved operational efficiencies," said CEO Keith Allman.
Masco posted quarterly adjusted earnings of 83 cents per share, above estimates of 66 cents per share. (Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
