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Ace Hardware Corp. reported financial growth in its fourth quarter and for fiscal 2016, which the co-op’s top executive called a “challenging year.”
The cooperative saw fourth-quarter 2016 revenues of $1.2 billion, an increase of 5.8 percent from the fourth quarter of 2015. Total revenues for the year were $5.1 billion, an increase of 1.6 percent compared to the prior year.
Same-store sales were up 2.5 percent for the full year.
“I am proud to report that 2016 was the fourth consecutive year of record financial performance for the company,” president and CEO John Venhuizen says. “I feel privileged and grateful to report the best-ever sales, net income and shareholder return in what was admittedly a challenging year.”
Net income was $21.5 million for the fourth quarter 2016, an increase of 77.7 percent from the same period a year ago. Last year’s net income was $161.2 million, an increase of 3.2 percent compared to the prior year.
The 4.4 percent increase in retail same-store sales during the fourth quarter, as reported by approximately 3,000 Ace retailers who share daily retail sales data, was the result of increased customer counts and average transaction size, according to the co-op.
“To give you an idea of the success of our retail strategy, we have seen increases in same-store sales for seven consecutive years, increases in new store growth for five consecutive years and increases in customer transactions for four consecutive years,” Venhuizen says.
