DNOW Swings To Long-Awaited YoY Sales Gain In Q1

The company's Q1 sales — while still considerably lower than two years ago — had a year-over-year sales gain for the first time since the company spun off from National Oilwell Varco in Q2 2014, and improved by nearly $100 million sequentially.

Houston-based NOW Inc., which does business as DistributionNOW, reported its 2017 first quarter fiscal performance on Wednesday, led by a long-awaited change to year-over-year sales growth after 11 straight quarters of decline dating back to the company's inception.

The company posted Q1 2017 sales of $631 million, up 15.1 percent year-over-year, and up 17.3 percent sequentially from Q4 2016. Meanwhile, the company took a net loss of 23 million in Q1, an improvement from a $71 million loss in Q4 2016.

It was DNOW's first year-over-year sales gain since it spun off from National Oilwell Varco on May 30, 2014, and a considerable rebound from two straight years of large year-over-year decreases. 

"We are excited that rig count improvements from late last year materialized into tank battery facility construction in the quarter, driving our largest sequential revenue gains since before the downturn," said NOW Inc. president and CEO Robert Workman. 'We anticipate continuing momentum from North America rig count additions, offset slightly by normal seasonal Canadian break-up in the second quarter."

Here's how the past two-plus years of quarterly performance have fared for DNOW, which is No. 12 on Industrial Distribution's Big 50 List.

Quarter Sales YOY Sales Change Net Profit
Q1 2017 $631 million +15.1% -$23 million
Q4 2016 $538 million -16.5% -$71 million
Q3 2016 $520 million -30.9% -$56 million
Q2 2016 $501 million -33.2% -$44 million
Q1 2016 $548 million -36.5% -$63 million
Q4 2015 $644 million -36% -$249 million
Q3 2015 $753 million -29.6% -$224 million
Q2 2015 $750 million -21.2% -$19 million
Q1 2015 $863 million -24.8% -$10 million
Q4 2014 $1.01 billion -3.4% +16 million

By geographic segment in Q1 2017:

  • U.S. sales of $439 million (69.6 percent of total) increased 23.0 percent year-over-year and 15.8 percent from Q4 2016.
  • Canada sales of $96 million increased 52.4 percent year-over-year and 36.5 percent from Q4 2016.
  • International sales of $96 million decreased 25.0 percent year-over-year and increased 11.6 percent from Q4 2016.
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