BlueLinx Holdings, an Atlanta building products distributor, said Thursday that it is closing four distribution centers as a result of a “de-leveraging plan” aimed at reducing debt.
The company did not identify the locations of the warehouses, which are expected to close by year-end, or what job impact the move will have. BlueLinx has 51 warehouses and 1,600 employees in a national network.
Attempts to reach the company were not immediately successful.
Cerberus Capital Management, a New York private equity firm, owns a majority stake in BlueLinx.
BlueLinx has been reporting losses for years, and announced in February that it had reach a preliminary deal to extend the due date of a nearly $160 million real estate loan by three years, to July 1, 2019. The agreement would require BlueLinx to pay down $60 million on the loan by mid-2017, and another $55 million by mid-2018.
The company has lost nearly $128 million since 2010, but reported its smallest loss last year, $11.6 million vs. a $13.9 million loss the previous year.
BlueLinx shares have dropped by more than 90 percent over the past decade, dropping below $1 a share last year. Thursday afternoon, BlueLinx shares traded at 77 cents a share, up nearly 4 percent.
In a statement about the company’s financial results, Chief Executive Mitch Lewis said BlueLinx’ fourth-quarter results were its best since 2006 as the company continued to cut costs.
“We remain focused on de-leveraging our balance sheet by closely managing our working capital while we monetize our real estate portfolio,” said Lewis.
Thursday, BlueLinx said it expects the cost of closing the warehouses to be between $3.5 million and $4.5 million. The gains from selling the real estate are expected to "substantially exceed" those costs, the company said.
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