Essendant sees sales rise but earnings fall
Essendant Inc. (formerly United Stationers) reported that second-quarter sales increased 1.6% to $1.34 billion when compared to the second quarter of last year.
Net income fell to $30.2 million, or 79 cents per share, compared to income of $33.3 million, or 86 cents, in the same period last year.
Sales of industrial supplies increased 48.1 percent to $215.0 million, including $86.7 million of incremental sales from the CPO and MEDCO acquisitions made in 2014. Weakness in the energy and industrial sectors drove a $16.9 million sales decline in the core industrial business. Janitorial and breakroom supplies sales increased 3.1 percent to $368.3 million from $357.2 million. Total office products sales were down 7.3 percent to $722.0 million from $778.5 million as the company exited certain low margin business.
"In the second quarter we officially became Essendant, marking another major milestone in our journey to become the fastest and most convenient solution for workplace essentials," said Robert B. Aiken, Jr., newly appointed president and chief executive officer. "We continue to make solid progress executing our strategy as we strengthen the core business with a common operating platform, grow our e-commerce relationships and offerings, and expand our automotive aftermarket business with the recently announced Nestor Sales LLC acquisition. Our results reflect solid execution, particularly in light of increasing headwinds in the industrial and energy sectors."
Aiken had served as interim CEO of Essendant since May 2015.
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.
