(RTTNews) - Thursday, Richelieu Hardware Ltd. (RCH.TO: News ), a specialty hardware maker, reported a fall in second quarter earnings, as revenues dipped from last year due to the impact of the economic slowdown on the residential and commercial renovation market in the United States, as well as Canada.

Richelieu's second quarter net income declined to C$7.31 million or C$0.33 per share from C$9.1 million or C$0.40 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Quarterly sales were C$110.1 million, down 4.1% from C$114.85 million in the same period last year.

The company indicated that the C$4.7 million decline in revenues reflects a reduction in residential and commercial renovation spending in the United States and Canada under more challenging economic conditions.

In Canada, Richelieu recorded sales of C$92.0 million, down by C$3.7 million or 3.8% from the second quarter of 2008, reflecting a 4.5% internal decrease and a 0.7% growth from the acquisition of Acroma. U.S. Sales, expressed in Canadian dollars, totaled C$18.0 million, compared to C$19.1 million for the corresponding quarter of 2008, a decrease of 5.7%.
For the first half, net income declined 25.9% to C$11.65 million, while earnings on a per share basis fell 22.1% to C$0.53 per share, compared to the corresponding period last year.

First-half consolidated sales declined by 3.2% to C$204.2 million, reflecting a 4.0% internal decrease and a 0.9% growth from the contribution of Top Supplies and Acroma.

In addition, Richelieu announced a dividend of C$0.08 per share, payable on August 6, 2009 to shareholders of record as at July 23, 2009.

RCH.TO is trading at C$17.50, up C$0.01 or 0.6%, on a volume of about two thousand shares.

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by RTT Staff Writer

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