Third quarter revenue up over 24% for Distribution Solutions Group
Total revenue for Distribution Solutions Group's third quarter increased $91.8 million, or 26.4%, to $438.9 million, which included $106.3 million of revenue from 2022 and 2023 acquisitions. Consolidated organic revenue declined 4.2% for the quarter, primarily driven by softness in the Industrial Technologies (TestEquity) vertical.
Operating income was $12.8 million, reflecting higher intangible amortization from our recent acquisitions and $13.9 million of non-recurring severance, acquisition-related retention costs, stock-based compensation and other non-recurring items as compared to operating income of $22.0 million in the prior year quarter. Adjusted operating income excluding these items was $26.7 million compared to $25.7 million a year ago quarter.
CEO and Chairman of the Board Bryan King said, “We delivered a strong quarter with Adjusted EBITDA growing nearly 26% and a 10.7% Adjusted EBITDA margin excluding the Hisco impact. Revenue grew slightly more than 26% primarily from recent acquisition activity. For the first nine months of fiscal 2023, we generated significant cash flows from operating activities of $74 million, of which $47 million was realized in the third quarter, demonstrating the power of scale, solid margins in each of our business verticals and our focus on working capital efficiency.
"Our third quarter included a full quarter of Hisco results, which we acquired in June. We are well underway integrating Hisco's business into TestEquity and continue to recognize the benefits of building a broader customer base and reach, a larger geographic footprint and an enhanced product offering. While it's still in the early days of integration with the rest of DSG, we are discovering additional opportunities Hisco offers to achieve revenue and cost synergies across the entire group.
"One of our key strengths is that we support a diverse customer base in growing end markets. We are closely monitoring the demand environment in light of the continued tightening monetary policy, as well as fluctuations in customer ordering patterns," Kind continued. "While some markets inevitably fluctuate, we continue to strategically invest in initiatives which generate long-term profitable growth and cash flow across the DSG platform. We are proactively identifying margin improvement and cost savings opportunities and are taking steps to sustainably improve our business to mitigate sales and margin risks for the remainder of 2023 and into 2024. Our asset-light business model, combined with our focus on growing operating cash flows and accelerating returns on invested capital, positions us well to enhance long-term shareholder value."