MSC sales up 3.5 percent
MSC Industrial Supply reported net sales for the fiscal third quarter 2015 were $745.5 million, an increase of 3.5% on an average daily sales basis.
Sales for the same period last year were $720.5 million.
Net income for the quarter was $63.3 million, or $1.03 per diluted share, compared to $64.7 million, or $1.03 per diluted share, in the same quarter a year ago.
"Our organic growth for the third quarter was in-line with our guidance and reflected the continued impact of the soft pricing environment and the lingering effects of the rapid change in oil prices, softening export demand, and foreign exchange headwinds, all of which continue to drag on broader manufacturing activity," said Erik Gershwind, president and chief executive officer. "We did, however, see growth well above the market driven by continued traction from our share gain programs as customers increasingly leverage our supply chain solutions."
Jeff Kaczka, executive vice president and chief financial pfficer, added, "Despite the challenging demand environment, we achieved earnings per share well above our guidance range. A key driver was the prompt actions that we took to manage our operating expenses. We achieved operating expenses as a percent of sales at the same level as the year ago quarter, even though sales growth was only low single-digits and we increased our investment spending. The second driver was another quarter of gross margin stabilization, which reflected our successful countermeasure efforts, offset by the gross margin headwinds from large account growth and the soft pricing environment."
MSC expects net sales for fiscal fourth quarter 2015 to be between $735 million and $747 million. At the midpoint, average daily sales growth is expected to be 2.0%.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The March/April issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about Joyce Lansdale and Vallen. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dirk Beveridge, Frank Hurtte, and David Kahle, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
