To share highlights of the quarter, net sales were up 14% year-over-year and up 11% organically.
Professional segment net sales were up 9%, a continuation of the growth trend for this segment.
Residential segment net sales were up 31%, setting another record.
From a segment earnings perspective, Professional segment grew 14% and Residential increased 49%.
We generated strong free cash flow in the quarter, which allowed us to pay down $90 million in debt and resume share repurchases.
We grew net sales by 13.7% to $873 million.
Reported earnings per share was $1.02 and adjusted earnings per share was $0.85 per diluted share.
This compares with reported earnings per share of $0.65 and adjusted earnings per share of $0.64 for the comparable quarter last year.
Now to the segment results, Professional segment net sales for the quarter were up 9.3% to $650.2 million.
Professional segment earnings for the quarter were up 14% to $116.8 million.
When expressed as a percent of net sales, segment earnings increased 80 basis points to 18%.
Residential segment net sales for the quarter were up 31.3% to $217.7 million.
Residential segment earnings for the quarter were up 48.9% to a record $32.1 million.
This reflects a 170 basis point year-over-year increase to 14.7% when expressed as a percent of net sales.
We reported gross margin for the quarter of 36.1%, a decrease of 140 basis points from the prior year.
Adjusted gross margin was also 36.1%, down to 150 basis points.
SG&A expense as a percent of net sales decreased 570 basis points to 19.9% for the quarter.
Operating earnings as a percent of net sales for the quarter increased 430 basis points to 16.2%.
Adjusted operating earnings as a percent of net sales increased 210 basis points to 14.2%.
Interest expense of $7.5 million was down approximately $600,000 compared with a year ago, driven by lower interest rates.
The reported effective tax rate was 18.1% for the first quarter and adjusted effective tax rate was 21.5%.
Turning to the balance sheet and cash flow, at the end of the quarter, our liquidity was just over $1 billion.
This included cash and cash equivalents of $433 million and full availability under our $600 million revolving credit facility.
Accounts receivable totaled $306.9 million, down 4.5% from a year ago due to channel mix and the timing of other and receivables.
Inventory was down 8.6% from a year ago to $675.3 million.
Accounts payable increased 4.7% to $364.4 million from a year ago.
First quarter free cash flow was $84.5 million with a reported net earnings conversion ratio of 76%.
During the first quarter we paid down $90 million in debt and returned $59.8 million to shareholders, $28.7 million in regular dividends and $31.4 million in share repurchases.
For fiscal 2021 we continue to expect net sales growth in the range of 6% to 8%.
We expect full year adjusted earnings per share in the range of $3.35 to $3.45 per diluted share.
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Summary:
We grew net sales by 13.7% to $873 million.
Reported earnings per share was $1.02 and adjusted earnings per share was $0.85 per diluted share.
For fiscal 2021 we continue to expect net sales growth in the range of 6% to 8%.
We expect full year adjusted earnings per share in the range of $3.35 to $3.45 per diluted share.