Atlantic growing amid rebuilding

Atlantic Hardware & Plumbing Company Ltd (AHPC) expects to deliver double-digit growth this year as post-Hurricane Melissa rebuilding demand and a new agro-distribution business combine to push the Junior Market-listed company to record levels.

AHPC generated revenue of $776.4 million in the April-to-June quarter, up 92 per cent from $404.8 million a year earlier, while net profit surged 140 per cent to $42 million from $17.5 million. For the six months to June, sales climbed 69 per cent to $1.46 billion and net profit jumped 243 per cent to $116.3 million.

The first-half performance has already produced 81 per cent of the revenue achieved during the whole of 2025 and has exceeded last year’s full-year profit of $68.9 million by nearly 70 per cent. Based on the current run rate, AHPC appears well positioned to establish new records for both sales and earnings by year end.

CEO Deanall Barnes attributed the revenue expansion to higher demand across the traditional hardware and building materials business, improved product availability, and the company’s entry into agro-distribution earlier this year. AHPC assumed distribution rights for a portfolio of agricultural brands in February, adding fertilisers, seeds, pesticides, veterinary products, and home and garden supplies to its offerings.

“The growth in revenues was spurred by those agri-supplies. We recorded a little under $300 million from that segment since February,” Barnes said.

The additional business line broadened AHPC’s customer base beyond hardware retailers and contractors into farms, farm stores, veterinary practices and pet shops, while also positioning the company to benefit from increased activity in agricultural recovery following Melissa.

“We have roughly a thousand repeat customers, from a man who buys one chisel, to a man who buys a trailer load of zinc, nails, doors or plywood,” Barnes said, declining to say whether AHPC would enter the retail sector in a meaningful way.

Profitability improved despite a significant rise in operating expenses linked to the expansion. Selling, general and administrative expenses rose 53 per cent to $140 million in the quarter as AHPC added staff, incurred higher audit costs, and supported the buildout of the agro-distribution segment. Gross profit grew faster, however, increasing 62 per cent to $199.3 million and lifting operating profit to $68.5 million from $39.9 million.

Some margin compression occurred, Barnes said, driven by the participation in recovery efforts and thinner margins on agro-supplies.

“We supplied a lot of entities that were engaged in the reconstruction. Those items were basically sold heavily discounted as our contribution towards the national redevelopment of these areas. Plus, in agro, the two flagship products are fertilisers as well as feeds, and those are relatively single-digit margin products,” he said.

The company’s financing burden also eased. Finance costs for the six-month period fell 22 per cent to $49.8 million following debt-reduction measures undertaken during 2025, including repayments funded by IPO proceeds and the disposal of property assets.

Operating activities generated positive cash inflows of $97.4 million during the first half, down from $232.3 million a year earlier as AHPC invested heavily in inventory and receivables to support expanding sales volumes. Inventory increased by nearly $200 million while receivables rose by $155 million.

AHPC finished June with cash balances of $255 million, up from $210.2 million at the start of the year and more than double the $105 million held a year earlier. The stronger cash position was achieved despite $567 million in loan principal repayments and continued investment in the business.

neville.graham@gleanerjm.com