The top line was better than the bottom line for Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. in the first quarter, as net income dropped by more than 77% from a year earlier.

However, regardless of the present financial circumstances, the roofing supplies distributor is focused on digital commerce and transformation to improve margins.

Beacon Roofing Supply Q1 results

“We’re investing in improving our operations, and delivering results today, while also preparing for the future, including investments in our leading digital platform, private label offering, commercial acceleration initiatives, and our pricing model,” CEO Julian Francis told analysts on the company’s recent first-quarter earnings call.

For the quarter ended March 31, Beacon Roofing Supply posted revenue of $1.9 billion, an increase of 10.4% from $1.7 billion in the first quarter of 2023. Net income was $5.6 million, down from $24.8 million during the same period a year prior.

Also during the quarter, Beacon acquired General Siding Supply, a 50-year-old roofing headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.

Beacon Roofing Supply’s focus on digital commerce

Making smaller regional acquisitions is part of what Beacon calls its Ambition 2025 plan, a multi-year growth strategy. Another key pillar of Ambition 2025 is to grow digital commerce.

“Our online capability continues to be a clear competitive advantage for Beacon and sales through our digital platform, increases customer loyalty, generates larger basket sizes, and enhances margin by 150 basis points when compared to offline channels,” Francis told analysts, according to a transcript from SeekingAlpha.com. “In the first quarter, we grew digital sales nearly 28% year-over-year. Digital sales to our residential customers were a highlight, as we achieved our highest quarterly adoption ever at 23%, close to our Ambition 2025 target of 25%.”

Beacon Roofing Supply does not break out specific ecommerce metrics. Nevertheless, the company intends to continue to invest in ecommerce work towards its goal of achieving 50% of all sales online in next the several years.

“We think the investments in digital and private label in our ability to deploy resources against greenfields to attract talent, to develop that talent, to have the best people on the greenfield at all times is really important, and that’s where we’re spending our money,” Francis said.

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