Masco laments "difficult" year

16 February 2010

Masco, the US-based parent company of some of the biggest brands in bathrooms, has labelled 2009 "one of the more difficult economic environments [it] has ever experienced."

Sales for the company, which owns among many others Bristan, Hansgrohe, Huppe, Heritage and Moores Furniture, plummeted company wide by 18% to nearly $8 billion. In international markets sales fell by 17%, but that changes to 10% if exchange rates are taken into account.

Some comfort is taken by the large cash reserve of $1.4 billion built up by the end of the year to act as a buffer against further losses.

"We are very encouraged by our 2009 financial and operating performance in one of the more difficult economic environments Masco has ever experienced," said CEO Tim Wadhams.

"Although our sales were down 18% compared to 2008 we were able to offset a significant portion of our volume declines primarily as a result of innovative new product introductions and market share gains."The market picked up through the year with the fourth quarter showing "modest improvement".

"Obviously, forecasting business conditions and company performance was extremely challenging in 2009," Wadham said. "But having said that we continued to exceed our expectations for sales, operating profit and cash flow as the year progressed. Ending the year with over $1.4 billion of cash is a testament to the worldwide Masco team's dedication and commitment to our emphasis on cash generation."

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Masco laments "difficult" year	Back
16 February 2010 Masco, the US-based parent company of some of the biggest brands in bathrooms, has labelled 2009 "one of the more difficult economic environments [it] has ever experienced." Sales for the company, which owns among many others Bristan, Hansgrohe, Huppe, Heritage and Moores Furniture, plummeted company wide by 18% to nearly $8 billion. In international markets sales fell by 17%, but that changes to 10% if exchange rates are taken into account. Some comfort is taken by the large cash reserve of $1.4 billion built up by the end of the year to act as a buffer against further losses. "We are very encouraged by our 2009 financial and operating performance in one of the more difficult economic environments Masco has ever experienced," said CEO Tim Wadhams. "Although our sales were down 18% compared to 2008 we were able to offset a significant portion of our volume declines primarily as a result of innovative new product introductions and market share gains."The market picked up through the year with the fourth quarter showing "modest improvement". "Obviously, forecasting business conditions and company performance was extremely challenging in 2009," Wadham said. "But having said that we continued to exceed our expectations for sales, operating profit and cash flow as the year progressed. Ending the year with over $1.4 billion of cash is a testament to the worldwide Masco team's dedication and commitment to our emphasis on cash generation."