In the fourth quarter, Masonite International generated turnover of US$636.0m. This represents just a slight increase of 2.8% vis à vis the previous year’s figure. In each of the three preceding quarters, growth rates had been in the double-digit percentage range. Following increases of 17.3% in the first quarter and 32.6% in the second, the growth rate slackened to 11.0% in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, the turnover increase was primarily due to significant price increases, which compensated for the decline in sales volumes. The company partly attributes the sales decline to the lower number of working days compared to the previous year as well as corona-related absenteeism. The price adjustments and savings in connection with SG&A costs meant Masonite was able to counter inflation and improve adjusted EBITDA by 17.2% to US$95.3m. The margin calculated on this basis increased to 15.0%. Operating profit, however, decreased significantly to US$9.1m; this was due to a considerable depreciation in goodwill value in the architectural division as well as other special effects. Against this background, a deficit of as much as US$25.2m was recorded concerning net profit.
For the entire year, Masonite achieved increases in turnover and adjusted EBITDA in both the North American residential and Europe divisions, while a decline was recorded in the architectural division. At group level, turnover of US$2.597bn was generated, corresponding to an increase of 15.1%. The most recent forecast from autumn was thus just barely achieved. The profits situation also improved significantly. However, at US$412.6m, adjusted EBITDA was not within the targeted range of US$415-425m. For 2022, Masonite is currently forecasting a further turnover increase of 6-10% and adjusted EBITDA in a range of US$445-475m. Last year, the company revised its original forecast several times.
