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Marking increases across the board from the second quarter of 2022, Ace Hardware shared its financial reports for the second quarter of 2023. The company’s revenues reached $2.6 billion, up 3.9% from last year, and operating income was $141 million, up 6.6% from last year. Net income for Q2 2023 was $126.7 million, up 1.5% from last year.
Increases were seen across a majority of departments with lawn and garden, paint and grilling showing the largest gains.
Ace added 36 new domestic stores in the second quarter of 2023 and closed 13 stores, for a total of 4,924 domestic stores. On a worldwide basis, Ace added 46 stores in the second quarter of 2023 and closed 14, bringing the worldwide store count to 5,811 at the end of the second quarter of 2023.
“A 45% increase in visits to Acehardware.com drove an 18% increase in our digital business, a 3% increase in store visits and an encouraging 1.1% increase in same-store transactions during the quarter,” says John Venhuizen, Ace Hardware president & CEO. “I’m very proud of the Ace team for delivering a 3.9% increase in revenue and a 6.6% increase in operating income within a difficult environment for retailers of durable goods.”
Wholesale gross profit was $323.6 million, an increase of $36.3 million from the second quarter of 2022. The wholesale gross margin percentage was 13.6% of wholesale revenues in the second quarter of 2023, up from 12.6% in the second quarter of 2022. The increase in wholesale gross margin percentage was primarily due to a decrease in LIFO expense driven by moderating vendor prices.
The approximately 3,600 Ace retailers who share daily retail sales data reported a 0.4% increase in U.S. retail same-store-sales during the second quarter of 2023, which was the result of a 1.1% increase in same-store transactions, partially offset by a 0.8% decrease in average ticket.
