Updating a key report for its bid to become a publicly traded company, US LBM reported Aug. 4 a net loss of $24.5 million in the first quarter of this year, improving from a $30.7 million loss in the year-earlier period, on a 19.8% jump in net sales to $659.9 million.
The amended S-1 registration statement also shows that US LBM has racked up $270.2 million in net losses since 2015. The last time it turned a net profit was in 2014. Such losses are common for companies that use borrowings to grow quickly and tout their prospects to investors based on adjusted EBITDA. By that metric, US LBM’s adjusted EBITDA rose to $30.474 million from $25.7 million. That total adjusted EBITDA since 2015 now has topped $228.2 million.
The No. 5 company on the ProSales 100 hasn’t revealed yet when it will launch an initial public offering (IPO).
For January through March, US LBM recorded a gross profit of $180.8 million, giving it a gross margin of 27.4%, a tick below the 27.5% margin on $151.6 million in gross profit recorded in the January-to-March 2016 quarter. Selling, general, and administrative expenses grew 16.7% to $157.3 million. Depreciation and amortization costs declined $3.3 million, reaching $24.4 million, but interest expenses rose $3.8 million to $22.1 million.
The roughly $55 million swing between net loss and adjusted EBITDA occurs because the latter metric strips out interest expense, taxes, depreciation, amortization, early extinguishment of debt, equity-based compensation expenses, IPO-related expenses, acquisition expenses, management fees, goodwill impairment charges, changes in reserves, specified consultant fees, and other margins. US LBM figures its adjusted EBITDA margin slipped to 4.6% in the first quarter from 4.7% in the year-earlier period.
Long-term debt–of which only $14.2 million now is due–constitutes $1.09 billion of the Buffalo Grove, Ill.-based company’s $1.49 billion in total liabilities. The asset side shows $658.2 million in goodwill and $316.9 million in intangible assets out of the $1.93 billion total.
