Posted July 1, 2010
MSC sales rise 28.5 percent
MSC Industrial Direct reported fiscal third-quarter net sales rose 28.5% to $450.4 million, compared with $350.5 million in the prior year period.
Operating income increased 55.6% to $70.4 million, or 15.6% of net sales, from $45.2 million, or 12.9% of net sales, in the third quarter of fiscal 2009. The company reported net income of $44.2 million, an increase of 59.4% over net income of $27.8 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2009.
Net sales for the first nine months of fiscal 2010 were $1.231 billion compared with $1.135 billion in the first nine months of fiscal 2009.
"Given our experience in past downturns and our deep understanding of how these times impact local and regional competitors in our fragmented market, we believed in our plan and the share gains it would produce. I am happy to say we are now beginning to see our investments validated in our results," said David Sandler, president and chief executive officer. "Although there remains significant uncertainty relating to the economic environment and the current recovery, we are confident that our growth in market share will continue to accelerate."
Customer inventory levels of MRO products have increased over last quarter but remain well below historical levels, according to Erik Gershwind, executive vice president and chief operating officer.
"We are seeing what we describe as cautious restocking among our customers, with an overall level of caution and a desire to run lean and preserve cash," Gershwind said.
He added that sales trends continued to grow in the third quarter, with growth in average daily sales of approximately 31% in May compared to last year.
For the fiscal 2010 fourth quarter, the company expects net sales to be between $446.0 million and $458.0 million.
