Fastenal's sales fall 12.5%
Fastenal reported net sales for the fourth quarter totaled $476.75 million, a decrease of 12.5% from $544.95 million in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Net earnings decreased from $62.5 million to $44.5 million in the quarter, a decrease of 28.8%. Basic and diluted earnings per share decreased from 42 cents to 30 cents for the comparable periods.
Net sales for the year were $1.9 billion, a decrease of 17.5% from $2.3 billion in 2008. Net earnings decreased from $279.7 million in 2008 to $184.3 million in 2009, a decrease of 34.1%.
During 2009, Fastenal opened 69 new stores, compared to 161 new stores in 2008. During the year, employee headcount decreased 11.7%.
The company said that sales to manufacturing customers, which historically accounts for approximately 50% of sales, fell by 10.1% in the fourth quarter and 18.8% for the year versus the same periods in 2008. Non-residential construction business (historically 20% to 25% of sales) contracted approximately 24.7% in the fourth quarter and 19.4% for the year versus the same periods in 2008.
"On a sequential basis, our daily average sales to our manufacturing customers improved each month since May 2009 (with the exception of July and December 2009 due to the holiday impact) versus the previous month. This trend was the first sequential improvement since September 2008," according to a prepared statement.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The May/June issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about GHX Industrial. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dr. Bharani Nagarathnam and Frank Hurtte, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
