MSC sales drop 4.7% YoY for fiscal Q2
MSC INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY CO. reported net sales of $891.7 million for its fiscal 2025 second quarter ended March 1 – a 4.7% decrease year over year.
CEO Erik Gershwind, said, "During our fiscal second quarter, we continued expanding our solutions footprint, maintained momentum in the Public Sector, and completed important milestones in reenergizing our core customer growth rate. This included launching our website upgrades and an enhanced marketing campaign. Amid a challenging operating environment with industrial demand at low levels, we generated solid results that landed within our guidance range."
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Kristen Actis-Grande added, "Average daily sales declined 4.7% year-over-year, but we are encouraged by January and February performance which exceeded historical month-over-month trends. Additionally, our strong gross margin performance, partly aided by favorable supplier rebates, resulted in an operating margin of 7.0% and adjusted operating margin of 7.1%, slightly above the midpoint of our guidance range. We also utilized our healthy balance sheet and strong operating cash flow performance to return approximately $60 million to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases during the fiscal second quarter."
Gershwind concluded, "While we are encouraged by positive early indicators from our growth initiatives and improving sequential growth rate trends, we have more work to do, and the environment remains uncertain. We are focused on executing our Mission Critical productivity and growth initiatives. Looking forward, this will strengthen MSC's position in the marketplace and ability to achieve our long-term objectives of reaching 400 basis points or more of growth above the IP Index and expanding operating margins to the mid-teens."
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The March/April issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about Industrial Supply Co. 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.
