Door company opens payroll to 150 Brits

TAMPA -- Masonite International Corp. completed its purchase of Performance Doorset Solutions Ltd. in England, which will add 150 employees and more than $20 million in annual revenue to the company.

The Tampa-based hardboard door manufacturer paid $16 million for the company, which specializes in non-standard doors made of both wood and composite materials. The company was founded in 2003 in the outskirts of Rochdale, just outside Manchester, according to PDS' website. It later moved to nearby Littleborough.

Shares of Masonite, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DOOR, closed lower after the announcement. Monday's close was $67.11, down 1% from Friday after lower-than-average trading volume.

Masonite reported a net loss of $31.1 million, or $1.03 per share, in the quarter ended March 29. That compares to a $16.6 million, or 56 cents per share, loss the year before. Revenues rose, however, from $422.5 million to $434.5 million.

Last month, Masonite announced it was selling its French door division Predmor SAS to French-based equity company Perceva.