Trex Profit Better Than Expected

First-quarter sales rise 17.1%.

Author:: Rob Lenihan
Publish date:: Apr 27, 2006 2:40 PM EDT

Trex

(TWP)

saw its shares surge after the Winchester, Va., company beat Wall Street's first-quarter earnings expectations.

The company, a maker of composite decking and railing, said sales rose 17.1% from a year ago to $105.3 million. Earnings fell to $4.2 million, or 29 cents a share, from $8.4 million, or 56 cents a share, a year ago.

Analysts polled by Thomson First Call were expecting the company to post earnings of 24 cents a share on revenue of $113.8 million.

Trex also affirmed its previously announced guidance for the first six months of the year, which calls for net sales of $220 million to $230 million and earnings of 57 cents to 62 cents a share. For the first half of last year, the company had sales of $173 million and earnings of 50 cents a share.

Shares of Trex were rising $3.31, or 12%, to $30.77 in recent trading.