Winchester, Va.-based American Woodmark (AMWD -0.54%) shares leapt more than 4% in early Tuesday trading, responding to a fiscal Q1 2014 earnings report that was largely positive.
Like other companies with exposure to the housing market, American Woodmark is riding a wave of increased consumer confidence in the sector and upbeat home data.
Sales in the first fiscal quarter climbed 20% to $178.1 million. Moreover, Woodmark expanded its gross profit margins by 400 basis points in the first quarter, to 18.9%. Selling, general and administrative costs declined by 80 basis points. As a result, Woodmark earned $0.43 per diluted share in Q1, more than a 10-fold gain over last year's Q1 earnings of $0.04 per diluted share.
The sole black mark on the quarter was found in the company's cash flow statement, which showed American Woodmark continuing to burn cash, albeit at a much slower pace than last year. Free cash flow for the quarter came to negative $690,000. Over the past four quarters, however, American Woodmark has generated $21.7 million in positive free cash flow, a number exceeding even its $15.1 million in reported GAAP net income.
-- Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.
