TRUE VALUE COMPANY ANNOUNCES SECOND QUARTER RESULTS

August 17, 2015

CHICAGO, August 17, 2015 – True Value Company, one of the world’s largest retailer-owned hardware cooperatives, today reported gross billings of $573.6 million for the quarter ending July 4, 2015, up 1.0 percent or $5.6 million from the same period a year ago. Revenue was $431.9 million, an increase of 0.6 percent or $2.4 million. The cooperative posted a quarterly net margin of $9.3 million.

For the six-month period ending July 4, 2015, True Value reported gross billings of $1,067.6 million, up 3.8 percent or $39.5 million from $1,028.1 million for the same period a year ago. True Value reported revenue of $785.8 million, an increase of 3.3 percent or $24.8 million from $761.0 million for the same period a year ago. The cooperative planned for a decrease in net margin in the first half of 2015, posting a net margin of $7.6 million, driven by investment expense incurred in connection with the implementation of the cooperative’s strategic plan.

Destination True Value (DTV) comparable store sales were up 5.6 percent year-to-date. Wholesale comparable store sales, on a gross billings basis, were flat in the quarter and up 3.2 percent year-to-date. Retail comparable store sales were up 2.3 percent in the quarter and 3.5 percent year-to-date with increases in all twelve regions of the country and in all of the cooperative’s nine product categories, led by Farm Ranch Auto & Pet, Hand & Power Tools and Seasonal.

“We are very proud of the transformation that is underway at True Value,” said President and Chief Executive Officer, John Hartmann. “The work being done on our strategic plan will have lasting positive impact on the organization and our retailers for years to come.”
During the first half of the year, True Value continued to grow its square footage and retailer base. In the six-month period, the company added over 382,000 square feet of relevant retail space, continuing its commitment to grow DTV and other relevant formats in its network. In addition, the company signed 26 conversions so far in 2015, for an additional estimated $18.6 million in new annualized warehouse business.

“Our flexible DTV format enables our cooperative members to adapt the layout and custom-select merchandise assortments that are most relevant to their local market and customer needs,” said Hartmann. “Our first half performance shows that our efforts are paying off.”

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