GMS Reports Third Quarter Fiscal 2025 Results

Pricing Resilience Despite Declining End Market Demand

GMS Inc., a leading North American specialty building products distributor, reported financial results for the fiscal third quarter ended January 31, 2025.

Third Quarter Fiscal 2025 Highlights

(Comparisons are to the third quarter of fiscal 2024)

• Net sales of $1.3 billion increased 0.2%; organic net sales decreased 6.7%.
• Net loss of $21.4 million, or $0.55 per diluted share, including a $42.5 million non-cash goodwill impairment charge, decreased from net income of $51.9 million, or $1.28 per diluted share.
• Adjusted net income of $36.2 million, or $0.92 per diluted share, decreased from $68.8 million, or $1.70 per diluted share.
• Adjusted EBITDA of $93.0 million decreased $35.0 million, or 27.3%.
• Cash provided by operating activities and free cash flow were $94.1 million and $83.1 million, respectively, compared to cash provided by operating activities and free cash flow of $104.3 million and $94.1 million, respectively, in the prior year period; Net debt leverage was 2.4 times at the end of the quarter, up from 1.5 times a year ago.

“Our results in the quarter reflect the impact of soft end market demand and steel pricing, both of which deteriorated meaningfully during the last half of the quarter, ultimately driving both lower than expected sales and gross margin compression, despite experiencing price and mix improvement in Wallboard and Ceilings,” said John C. Turner, Jr., President and CEO of GMS. “Economic uncertainty, general affordability and tight lending conditions, combined with adverse winter weather disruptions, all contributed to reduced levels of activity in each of our end markets.”

“During the quarter, we delivered a net reduction in organic SG&A primarily as a result of the cost reduction efforts we took earlier this fiscal year. Moreover, given that we expect the macro-level conditions to continue at least into the back half of calendar 2025, we are taking additional actions to further rationalize our operations and align the business with the now lower expected volumes in our end markets. As such, leveraging our investments in technology and efficiency optimization, we are implementing an additional estimated $20 million in annualized cost reductions, which will bring our total annualized run rate of reductions to $50 million since the start of our fiscal year.”

“While the broader construction environment in our industry remains challenged, continuing year-over-year price resilience in Wallboard and Ceilings was a bright spot during the quarter, and we expect this to continue during our fourth quarter. In addition, we are demonstrating the strength of our business model through our ability to generate significant levels of cash flow and maintain our solid balance sheet. We are confident that GMS is positioned to navigate the evolving backdrop and benefit from our scale, wide breadth of product offerings and balanced mix of end markets served, to capitalize on opportunities when demand trends improve.”

Third Quarter Fiscal 2025 Results

(Comparisons are to the third quarter of fiscal 2024 unless otherwise noted)

Net sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2025 of $1.3 billion increased 0.2%, while organic net sales declined 6.7%. Benefits to total net sales from recent acquisitions and favorable Ceilings mix were offset by demand contraction across multi-family, commercial and single-family markets amid broader economic uncertainty. Unfavorable winter weather conditions were also a factor.

Year-over-year quarterly sales changes by product category were as follows:

• Wallboard sales of $501.7 million decreased 3.6% (down 7.4% on an organic basis).
• Ceilings sales of $180.7 million increased 16.0% (up 4.4% on an organic basis).
• Steel Framing sales of $179.7 million decreased 11.6% (down 17.9% on an organic basis).
• Complementary Product sales of $398.6 million increased 5.3% (down 4.3% on an organic basis).

Gross profit of $393.1 million decreased $21.6 million from the prior year quarter. Gross margin was 31.2%, down 180 basis points as compared to 33.0% a year ago. Gross margins contracted year-over-year across all major product lines driven by weak demand and continued negative price and cost dynamics. Additionally, vendor incentive income was challenged by reduced volumes. Absent the lower incentive income, we were pleased to experience generally resilient pricing and margins sequentially, consistent with our expectations, despite the current competitive market pressures. Steel pricing, however, once again was a headwind, declining both sequentially and year-over-year.

Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses were $310.8 million for the quarter, up from $295.7 million. Of the $15.1 million year-over-year increase, approximately $24 million related to recent acquisitions, $4 million related to higher than usual insurance claim development, and $1.2 million related to an increase in severance costs primarily associated with the previously disclosed cost containment actions. Despite the headwind of unfavorable weather-related inefficiencies, these increases were offset by lower overall operating costs, reflective of the realized savings from the previously disclosed cost reduction actions and reduced activity given the changes in demand.

SG&A expense as a percentage of net sales increased 120 basis points to 24.7% for the quarter, compared to 23.5%. In what is typically our seasonally slowest quarter, our results were further impacted by several unusual items, including greater than normal disruptions from winter weather and higher than usual insurance claims development, which together contributed 70 basis points of deleverage. General operating cost inflation, principally from higher rent expense, contributed 70 basis points of deleverage, 50 basis points of which was offset by structural cost improvements from our previously announced restructuring actions. One-time costs, primarily severance, related to the cost containment efforts, negatively impacted SG&A leverage by 20 basis points. Net product price deflation, led by Steel, was also unfavorable to SG&A leverage, by 10 basis points. Adjusted SG&A expense as a percentage of net sales of 23.9% increased 100 basis points from 22.9%.

Inclusive of a $42.5 million impairment of goodwill, a $7.4 million gain from the sale of the Company’s non-core installed insulation contracting business, and a $4.3 million, or 22.8%, increase in interest expense, the Company recorded a net loss of $21.4 million, or $0.55 per diluted share. This compared to net income of $51.9 million, or $1.28 per diluted share in the prior year period. Due to the net loss in the quarter, net income margin is not a meaningful measure. Adjusted net income was $36.2 million, or $0.92 per diluted share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2025, compared to $68.8 million, or $1.70 per diluted share.

Adjusted EBITDA decreased $35.0 million, or 27.3%, to $93.0 million compared to the prior year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 7.4%, compared with 10.2% for the third quarter of fiscal 2024.

Impairment of Goodwill

During the quarter, the Company recognized a $42.5 million non-cash impairment charge to write off goodwill related to its Ames business. The primary factor contributing to the impairment was a decrease in the expected future cash flows and an increase in the associated discount rate for the business, primarily due to softness stemming from high interest rates and other economic factors in the markets that business operates in.

Balance Sheet, Liquidity and Cash Flow

As of January 31, 2025, the Company had cash on hand of $59.0 million, total debt of $1.4 billion and $469.7 million of available liquidity under its revolving credit facilities. Net debt leverage was 2.4 times as of the end of the quarter, up from 1.5 times at the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2024.

For the third quarter of fiscal 2025, cash provided by operating activities was $94.1 million, compared to $104.3 million in the prior year period. Free cash flow was $83.1 million for the quarter ended January 31, 2025, compared to $94.1 million for the quarter ended January 31, 2024. The Company also generated, on a non-operating basis, an additional $12.5 million in cash flow from the sale of a non-core, installed insulation business.

Share Repurchase Activity and Renewed Share Repurchase Authorization

During the Company’s fiscal third quarter, the Company repurchased 445,163 shares of common stock for $39.3 million. As of January 31, 2025, the Company had $218.4 million of share repurchase authorization remaining.

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About GMS, Inc.

Founded in 1971, GMS operates a network of more than 300 distribution centers with extensive product offerings of Wallboard, Ceilings, Steel Framing and Complementary Products. In addition, GMS operates more than 100 tool sales, rental and service centers, providing a comprehensive selection of building products and solutions for its residential and commercial contractor customer base across the United States and Canada. The Company’s unique operating model combines the benefits of a national platform and strategy with a local go-to-market focus, enabling GMS to generate significant economies of scale while maintaining high levels of customer service.

Contact:

Carey Phelps – Investor Relations – ir@gms.com – (770) 723-3369

Source: GMS, Inc.