Fastenal sales up 5 percent
Fastenal Company reported sales for the second quarter were $997.8 million, a 5 percent increase over sales of $949.9 million in last year's second quarter.
Daily sales for the quarter were $15.6 million, compared to $14.8 million in 2014.
Net earnings for the quarter of $140.3 million improved by 7.5 percent from earnings of $130.5 million in the same quarter last year. Earnings per share improved to 48 cents per share compared to 44 cents per share last year.
Sales for the first six months of the year were up 6.8 percent to $1.9 billion, compared to $1.8 billion in the same period last year.
"The first six months of 2015 were hit hard by a slowdown in our business with customers connected to the oil and gas industry. This connection includes direct industry participants as well as those with a geographic connection. That's the bad news, the good news is that we believe there are signs of stabilization in the last few months," the company said in a statement accompanying its earnings release.
During the first six months, Fastenal said its fastener product line, which represents about 40 percent of the company's net sales, has seen its daily growth decrease from about 10 percent in the last six months of 2014 to flat in the second quarter of 2015. "Our market share gains continue to be strong, but the contraction from our existing customers has eliminated our growth," the company said.
The non-fastener maintenance and supply business, which accounts for 60 percent of the company's sales, has weakened in the last six months. "During this time frame, our non-fastener product line has seen its daily sales growth decrease from about 18 percent in the last six months of 2014 to about 9 percent in the second quarter of 2015. The weak environment has hurt our business, but the 9 percent growth compared to our end markets continues to demonstrate strong market share gains."
In a separate statement, Fastenal said its June sales were up 8.6 percent to $349 million. Daily sales during the month were $15.7 million.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
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