Roofing contractors operating in Tennessee will have to provide residents whose homes are damaged due to tornadoes and other storms with more information about their company and about their rights to cancel contracts under a new law.

Gov. Bill Haslam recently signed a law that comes into response to widespread complaints from homeowners following a number of severe storms that caused widespread damage in the state during the last couple of years.

In 2011, a number of tornadoes swept through the Midwest and South causing billions of damage. A hail storm that passed through in the Knoxville and Nashville later that year also damaged many homes and businesses.

As a result, the state was flooded with out-of-state roofing contractors who along with some in-state roofers or individuals posing as roofers reportedly took advantage of homeowners.

Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance spokesperson Christopher Garrett said that the department doesnt specifically track roofing complaints. However, he said, the department did hear from more homeowners concerning repairs.

As far as statistics go, the Contractors Board received an increase in home improvement complaints from victims of the 2011 storms, said Garrett.

Sponsored by Sen. Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro), SB2714/HB 2915 requires that roofing contractors whose work is covered by an insurer must provide a homeowner with their address, telephone number, license registration, email address, and a detailed description of all damage and repairs.

The contract must also contain a form notifying homeowners of their right to cancel a contract within three days after signing and/or receiving a written statement from their insurer that the contract is not a covered claim. Once a contract is cancelled, roofing contractors have 10 business days to return any payments to the homeowner, except for emergency repairs.

Roofing contractors or their agents are also prohibited from telling homeowners they can negotiate a claim with an insurer unless they are also a licensed public adjuster.

Any violations of these laws would be covered under Tennessees Consumer Protection Act of 1977.

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Tennessee Cracks Down on Roofing Contractor Fraud

Margins matter. The more Beacon Roofing Supply (Nasdaq: BECN) keeps of each buck it earns in revenue, the more money it has to invest in growth, fund new strategic plans, or (gasp!) distribute to shareholders. Healthy margins often separate pretenders from the best stocks in the market. That's why we check up on margins at least once a quarter in this series. I'm looking for the absolute numbers, so I can compare them to current and potential competitors, and any trend that may tell me how strong Beacon Roofing Supply's competitive position could be.

Here's the current margin snapshot for Beacon Roofing Supply over the trailing 12 months: Gross margin is 23.5%, while operating margin is 6.7% and net margin is 3.9%.

Unfortunately, a look at the most recent numbers doesn't tell us much about where Beacon Roofing Supply has been, or where it's going. A company with rising gross and operating margins often fuels its growth by increasing demand for its products. If it sells more units while keeping costs in check, its profitability increases. Conversely, a company with gross margins that inch downward over time is often losing out to competition, and possibly engaging in a race to the bottom on prices. If it can't make up for this problem by cutting costs -- and most companies can't -- then both the business and its shares face a decidedly bleak outlook.

Of course, over the short term, the kind of economic shocks we recently experienced can drastically affect a company's profitability. That's why I like to look at five fiscal years' worth of margins, along with the results for the trailing 12 months, the last fiscal year, and last fiscal quarter (LFQ). You can't always reach a hard conclusion about your company's health, but you can better understand what to expect, and what to watch.

Here's the margin picture for Beacon Roofing Supply over the past few years.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Dollar amounts in millions. FY = fiscal year. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Because of seasonality in some businesses, the numbers for the last period on the right -- the TTM figures -- aren't always comparable to the FY results preceding them. To compare quarterly margins to their prior-year levels, consult this chart.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Dollar amounts in millions. FQ = fiscal quarter.

Here's how the stats break down:

With recent TTM operating margins exceeding historical averages, Beacon Roofing Supply looks like it is doing fine.

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Beacon Roofing Supply's Margin Hot Streak Continues

WESTMINSTER, CO--(Marketwire -05/17/12)- The 3C Network (www.3C.com), a technology and business services company serving America's major roofing contractors, has announced the addition of Piers Dormeyer as Vice President of Sales for the Eastern United States. He joins Richard Goering, Vice President of Sales for the western states.

Demand for 3C Network's cloud-based technology, which includes roofing management software integrated with aerial measurement, inspection, estimating and management tools, is growing as roofing contractors are pressed to keep pace with construction and increasingly complex codes and regulations.

Dormeyer comes from Polyglass USA in New York, where he served as Regional Sales Manager responsible for all direct and independent sales representatives over the Eastern and Midwestern parts of the United States as well as Canada, Central America and the Caribbean markets. Dormeyer's experience also includes sales positions with GAF-Elk. He is a graduate of the University of Florida, Gainesville.

3C Network, short for Consumers, Contractors and Carrier Network, is a full-service technology and business solutions provider supporting roofing contractors in North America. 3C Network formed to be a catalyst among roofing contractors to better serve consumers while improving roofing contractor productivity and profitability. Technology solutions include free cloud-based roofing management software that integrates aerial CAD measurement, inspection and estimating tools and a dashboard to manage margins and more. 3C Network's no-hassle limited warranties on all materials and workmanship and online training and certification are some of the most popular business solutions offered. For more information about 3C Network, visit http://www.3C.com or call 855-3C-MEMBER or 855-326-3623.

Documents and/or Photos available for this release:

Press Release

To view supporting documents and/or photos, go to http://www.enr-corp.com/pressroom and enter Release ID: 330035

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3C Network Addresses Roofing Contractors' Demand for High-Performance Technology and Business Solutions

GLEN ALLEN, Va., May 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Industry analyst firm NanoMarkets today has announced the addition of a new report on building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) to its publication schedule titled "BIPV Roofing Markets - 2012" (Nano-543) that will be released the week of May 28th.The report is available at pre-publication rates through May 29th.For additional information about the report interested persons can visit the NanoMarkets website at http://nanomarkets.net/market_reports/report/bipv_roofing_markets_2012.

The firm has also announced that it will be releasing a report on the BIP encapsulation market in May and has also released a related report on BIPV glass market in February of this year. Information about these reports is also available on the NanoMarkets website at http://www.nanomarkets.net.

About the Report:

BIPV offers both the PV industry and the building products industry a way out of their current economic plights. For PV firms, BIPV provides a product strategy geared to adding value to products. For the building products industry, BIPV represents a new line of products that will enable construction firms to add saleable features to buildings of all kinds.

While all this is true of all BIPV products, there is a natural migration path from today's rooftop PV panels to BIPV roofing. With this in mind, NanoMarkets is publishing this report, which identifies and quantifies the market opportunities for BIPV roofing.

The report discusses a roadmap for BIPV roofing in which business revenues are generated initially by simple overlay products and then by conventional rigid and flexible BIPV roofing products and finally from fully integrated products. The report also shows how the performance of BIPV roofing is expected to evolve with a special focus on lifetime requirements and the materials that will be used both for substrates and absorber layers.

This report also includes extensive forecasts of the BIPV roofing market in terms of wattage, area covered and revenues generated. Breakouts are provided by type of building, type of BIPV roofing and key materials used. In addition, we project the nations and regions that will generate the most revenues for BIPV roofing and the breakouts of the BIPV roofing market by retrofit and new construction. As usual with NanoMarkets reports, this report also includes a detailed assessment of the strategies of the leading firms currently supplying BIPV roofing products.

About NanoMarkets:

NanoMarkets tracks and analyzes emerging market opportunities in energy, electronics and other markets created by developments in advanced materials. The firm is a recognized leader in industry analysis and forecasts of this kind and has been covering the photovoltaics sector for more than six years.

Visithttp://www.nanomarkets.netfor a full listing of NanoMarkets' reports and other services.

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NanoMarkets Announces Upcoming Report "BIPV Roofing Markets -2012" Set for May 2012 Release

DENVER (CBS4) A bill designed to protect homeowners when hiring a roofing company is on its way to Governor Hickenloopers office, but critics are spearheading an effort to get the measure vetoed. Their concern with the bill is the way it could be interpreted.

Colorados historic hail season makes the state ripe for roofing rip-offs. Colorado lawmakers have tried in the past to pass legislation that would protect consumers from fly-by-night operations that move through the state after a big storm.

We needed to do some Consumer Protection around this, said Sen. Lois Tochtrop, a Democrat from District 24.

Tochtrop sponsored Senate Bill 12-038, it passed through the House and Senate, getting support from both political parties. The bill requires a written contract between roofing companies and consumers. The contract is required to include the scope of work to be done, dates for the work and cost of the work. It also includes a rescission clause that allows consumers to cancel the contract with 72 hours and get a full refund of any money that has been paid. The bill also prohibits a contractor from paying, waiving, or rebating the consumers insurance deductible.

Its going to be a huge detriment to consumers, said Derek ODriscoll, a licensed public adjuster and a roofing contractor.

ODriscoll is among a growing number of people and groups opposing the legislation. Public adjusters, the Merlin Law Group, which is a Florida law firm specializing disputes between homeowners and insurance companies, and United Policyholders, which is a non-profit consumer advocacy group out of California, have all come out against Senate Bill 12-038. Their biggest concern is the way the bill is worded.

Some of the terminology, language and lack of language, really gives insurance adjusters a huge amount of control to determine scope of work and to deny legitimate estimates, ODriscoll said.

From the insurance industrys perspective, it doesnt give us any different kind of power. We just think it gives power back to the consumer when theyre in a situation being ripped off by an unscrupulous contractor, said Carole Walker, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Association.

The insurance industry, Colorado Roofers Association, the Colorado Roofing and Restoration Council, and the Subcontractors association are backing the bill. They believe it gives consumers some recourse in dealing with roofing contractors.

If I write an estimate, it differs from an insurance adjusters, it could be very different, as in he wants to replace one slope of a damaged roof, and I think the whole roof needs to be done. Traditionally, we would work that together, we would come to some kind of agreement. (Under SB 12-038) if he disagrees with me, and he denies the claim in part, during rescission window, they can put pressure on a consumer to use another contractor or to cancel their contract with me, ODriscoll explained.

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Roofing Regulation Causes Last Minute Controversy

LAKEWOOD - Roofing improvements to the George Nye Library and the Lakewood Youth Center are scheduled to begin in about two weeks, following the City Council's Tuesday night contract approval for the project.

Ten private companies submitted proposals on the work, and the Placentia- based Roofing Standards made the lowest bid at $115,200.

Western States Roofing Systems, of Northridge, the second lowest bidder at $166,600, however, had sent the city a protest letter saying Roofing Standards' estimate was below the actual cost to complete the work, according the agenda staff reports.

In her presentation, Director of Public Works Lisa Rapp addressed Western States' concerns with the council. Roofing Standards gave city staff an accurate bid verification, she said.

City staff also contacted the roofing consultant, who supplied the roofing materials cost sheet. The material cost was below the amount allocated by Roofing Standards' bid. The company also provided evidence of their intent to comply with the California Labor Codes for wages, she said.

Each contractor is responsible for determining its own material quantities, labor hours, overhead and profit percentage that comprise the total bid amount.

Roofing Standards is one of the few contractors certified by the roofing materials manufacturer to install the 20-year warrantied roofing system at the library and youth center, she said.

The roofing projects are

phillip.zonkel@presstelegram.com, 562-714-2098, twitter.com/zonkelpt

The rest is here:
Lakewood council approves roofing contract for library, youth center

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. ( BECN ) reported second-quarter 2012 earnings of 7 cents per share, easily beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 8 cents. Results improved compared to a loss of 13 cents in the year-ago quarter.

Increase in sales and gross margin contributed to the growth. However, the positives were partially offset by higher operating expenses and income tax provision as compared to 2011.

Operational Update

Total revenues increased 33.4% year over year to $395.2 million, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $346 million. Organic growth increased 28.2% in the quarter.

Residential roofing product sales improved 46.0% while non-residential roofing product sales increased 17.4% from the prior-year quarter. Sales benefited from improved re-roofing and remodeling activities including impact of weather conditions, along with stronger businesses in many markets that experienced storms during 2011 as well as average selling prices. Complimentary product sales increased 6.7% in the quarter.

Cost of goods sold increased 30.4% to $301.4 million in the quarter. Gross profit rose 43.7% to $93.7 million. Operating income in the reported quarter improved to $9.75 million from a loss of $6.83 million in the year-ago quarter.

Financial Position

Cash and cash equivalents were $171.1 million as of March 31, 2012, compared with $178.4 million as of March 31, 2011. Current portion of long-term debt amounted to $86.7 million as of March 31, 2012, compared with $9.1 million as of March 31, 2011.

Cash inflow from operating activities was $80.3 million during the second-quarter of 2012 compared with $68.8 million during the second-quarter of 2011. Cash flows in the first half of 2012 were positively impacted by higher net income, partially offset by less favorable changes in working capital.

In conclusion

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Beacon Roofing Shines in 2Q - Analyst Blog

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc.(BECN) is slated to report its second-quarter 2012 earnings results before the market opens on May 10. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter is a loss of 8 cents per share, representing an estimated year-over-year increase of 41.26%.

First Quarter Synopsis

The company, in the first quarter, reported adjusted earnings of 39 cents a share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 29 cents and exceeding the year-ago quarter earnings of 22 cents. On a reported basis, earnings were 41 cents a share compared with 22 cents in the year-ago quarter.

Revenues in the first quarter were $489.39 million, outperforming the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $475 million.

Beacons top line improvement largely stemmed fro the double-digit sales in most geographic regions.

Estimate Revision Trend

Agreement

Out of the 11 analysts covering the stock, none have revised their estimates for the second quarter in either direction over the last 7 and 30 days. A similar trend applies for fiscal 2012.

Magnitude

The Zacks Consensus Estimate remained the same for both the second quarter and fiscal 2012 over the last 7 and 30 days.

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Earnings Preview: Beacon Roofing

Cincinnati, OH - Carlisle SynTec Systems, a leading manufacturer and supplier of single-ply roofing systems and products recently honored The Holland Roofing Group, with the 2012 Excellence in Single-Ply Award. One of the most prestigious awards in the commercial roofing industry, ESP was created 15 years ago to identify and reward Carlisle's most successful contractor partners.

"Holland Roofing is one of only 18 contractors in North America to have achieved ESP status every year since the award's inception 15 years ago," said Nick Shears, Carlisle's vice president of sales and marketing. ESP status is awarded annually to a small percentage of Carlisle's most dedicated and professionally minded applicators. Selection into this elite group is based on a company's volume and quality of Carlisle single-ply roofing system installations.

About The Holland Roofing Group: Holland Roofing has been installing quality-roofing systems for over 25 years, specializing in new construction, roof replacement, roof repair and roof coatings. Holland Roofing is an award-winning, full-service commercial roofing company serving the Midwest and Southeastern regions of the United States with innovative roofing technology and superior customer service. Their extensive experience with a wide variety of roofing materials is the key to their ability to provide cost-effective solutions to their clients. And with fully developed system maintenance & asset management programs in place, Holland Roofing is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to ensure customer satisfaction throughout the entire roofing process. To discuss a new roofing project, schedule an inspection of an existing roofing system or find out how you can benefit from the services offered at Holland Roofing call 877-455-ROOF or visit http://www.HollandRoofing.com

About Carlisle SynTec Systems: Carlisle SynTec, headquartered in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, has been manufacturing single-ply membrane roofing systems for half a century. Carlisle SynTec is a business segment of Carlisle Construction Materials and has membrane manufacturing facilities in Carlisle, Pa; Greenville, Ill.; Senatobia, Miss.; and Tooele, Utah. For more information, call 800-479-6832 or visit http://www.carlislesyntec.com.

For More Information Contact: Brandon W. Peach Carlisle Creative Services 717-960-4420 Brandon.Peach@syntec.carlisle.com

Original post:
The Holland Roofing Group Receives Special Recognition from Leading Roofing Manufacturer

PEABODY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (the Company) (NASDAQ: BECN - News) announced results today for its second quarter and first half ended March 31, 2012 of the fiscal year ending September 30, 2012 (fiscal 2012).

Paul Isabella, the Companys President & Chief Executive Officer, stated: The positive momentum from our first quarter continued into our second quarter and we finished with record results for the first half of fiscal 2012. Our results for the second quarter and first half significantly exceeded our expectations and most of our regions are on track for a very successful year. Once again our company-wide residential and non-residential product sales in existing markets both showed double-digit percentage increases for the quarter, while our complementary product sales were up 7%. The much warmer winter conditions this year boosted roofing and exterior remodeling activities and seemed to accelerate the recent trend of increased residential re-roofing activities. In addition, our roofing businesses continued to benefit from industry-wide price increases, which mostly occurred during the second half of last year. Our commercial business has been consistently strong since the third quarter of fiscal 2010, and our year-over-year total gross margin and operating margin continued to improve. We were able to increase our cash holdings since our 2011 year-end and we utilized $79 million of that cash to pay down our term debt in April in connection with the closing on our new credit facility. The new credit facility, along with our further improved balance sheet, should enable us to accelerate our growth and we are confident that we will add additional quality companies this year that fit our target acquisition profile. We could not be more pleased with our first half performance and, although we will be up against much tougher comparisons, we expect to have a strong second half as well.

Second Quarter

Total sales increased 33.4% to $395.2 million in 2012 from $296.3 million in 2011. Existing market (organic) sales, which exclude branches acquired after the beginning of last years second quarter, increased 28.2%. In existing markets, residential and non-residential roofing product sales increased 46.0% and 17.4%, respectively, while complementary product sales increased 6.7%. Second quarter sales this year were favorably impacted by increased re-roofing and remodeling activities, including the impact from improved weather conditions and stronger business in several markets that experienced significant storms during the course of last fiscal year, and by higher average selling prices.

Net income for the second quarter was $3.1 million compared to a net loss of $6.2 million in 2011. Second quarter diluted net income per share was $0.07 compared to a net loss per share of $0.13 in 2011. The higher net income was due to the higher sales and gross margin rate, partially offset by the impact from higher operating expenses and a higher income tax provision compared to an income tax benefit in 2011.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and stock-based compensation (Adjusted EBITDA), which are reconciled to the net income in this press release, were $17.8 million in 2012 compared to $0.9 million in 2011.

First Half

Total sales increased 26.2% to a record $885.0 million in 2012 from $701.1 million in 2011. Existing market sales increased 21.7%. In existing markets, residential and non-residential roofing product sales increased 34.2% and 16.2%, respectively, while complementary product sales increased 1.5%. Our first half sales this year were primarily impacted by the same favorable factors mentioned above for the second quarter.

Net income for the first half was a record $22.3 million compared to $3.9 million in 2011. First half diluted net income per share was a record $0.47 compared to $0.08 per share in 2011. The higher net income was due to the higher sales and gross margin rate, partially offset by the impact from higher operating expenses and a higher income tax provision.

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Beacon Roofing Supply Reports Second Quarter 2012 Results