MSC Industrial sales up 16.5%
MSC Industrial Direct said its net sales rose 16.5% to $563.0 million, compared with $483.4 million in the prior year period.
The company reported net income of $60.1 million, or 95 cents per share, an increase of 20.9% over net income of $49.7 million, or 78 cents per share, in the second quarter of fiscal 2011.
Net sales for the first half of fiscal 2012 were $1.1 billion, compared with $956.2 million in the first half of fiscal 2011.
"I am extremely pleased with the progress of our growth initiatives and our performance in the quarter. With each passing quarter, it becomes increasingly clear that the industry consolidation we foresaw almost four years ago is entering the next phase. There is no doubt that the industrial market place is now rewarding the narrowing field of distributors who are capable of consolidating customers' spend across multiple locations, and providing the technology and technical expertise required to improve productivity and reduce supply chain costs," said David Sandler, chief executive officer.
Erik Gershwind, president and chief operating officer, said the strong performance was driven by the success of growth initiatives including customized vending programs and recent acquisitions.
"We believe the time has never been better for us to continue building on our momentum to consolidate our lead in metalworking and grow our business in adjacent product categories. Our gross margins remain strong despite near-term headwinds from our growth initiatives, including our recent acquisitions. However, we expect those headwinds to abate over time as the acquisitions mature and our vending program drives broader relationships with those customers," he said.
The company expects third-quarter sales to be between $610 million and $622 million.
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.
