MSC fiscal Q1 net sales decrease 2.7% YoY
MSC Industrial Supply Co. reported net sales of $928 million in its fiscal first quarter represents a decrease of 2.7% YoY.
Operating margin for the quarter ended Novemebr 30, was 7.8%, or 8.0% excluding adjustments to exclude restructuring and other costs.
"Our first quarter results reflect solid performance in a challenging operating environment," said Chief Executive Officer Erik Gershwind. "During the quarter, we returned to growth in the Public Sector and continued expanding our solutions footprint. While this is an encouraging start to the fiscal year, there is room for improvement, which we are addressing through the three pillars of our Mission Critical strategy."
Kristen Actis-Grande, executive vice president and chief financial officer, added, "Our first quarter performance exceeded our expectations. Average daily sales declined 2.7% year-over-year while gross margin performed as expected. This higher than expected revenue resulted in adjusted operating margin for the first quarter exceeding the high end of our outlook by approximately 50 basis points. We also generated significant free cash flow which, along with our strong balance sheet, provides financial optionality and allows us to return cash to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases."
Gershwind continued, "Looking ahead, macro conditions remain soft in the near term as reflected by our December growth rate, which was significantly weighed down by holiday and fiscal calendar timing, particularly during the last week of our fiscal month ending January 4th. However, we remain bullish on our long-term growth trajectory. Our self-help initiatives, such as the execution of our productivity pipeline and Mission Critical strategy, will bolster results as the end-markets with our greatest exposure return to more normalized demand levels."
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The November/December issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about Kimball Midwest. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dirk Beveridge, Frank Hurtte, and Mike Marks, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
