MSC sales decline 4.7% in fiscal Q4
MSC Industrial Supply Co. reported its Q4-24 net sales of $3,821.0 million decreased 4.7% YoY and includes a roughly 160 basis point headwind from non-repeating Public Sector orders in the prior year.
CEO Erik Gershwind, said, "During our fiscal fourth quarter, we made important progress in our mission critical strategy despite a challenging macro environment, particularly in heavy manufacturing. We sustained momentum in our high touch solutions, made solid progress on our web enhancements, restored gross margin stability, added to our productivity pipeline and generated strong free cash flow."
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Kristen Actis-Grande added, "Ongoing softness in the heavy manufacturing markets where we have significant exposure and headwinds from non-repeating orders in the prior year resulted in an average daily sales decline of 4.7% for the fiscal year. Near-term visibility remains limited underpinned by uncertainty stemming from the upcoming election and sluggish customer activity levels entering the holiday season. However, we witnessed various improvements for the fiscal year that are leading indicators for future profitability and growth. For the full year, gross margins came in at the higher end of our latest expectations, National Account customer growth outperformed the Industrial Production index and we generated robust operating cash flow. While we cannot control the external factors impacting our results, we are focused on continued improvement to drive long-term value creation."
Gershwind concluded, "As we begin fiscal year 2025, we are focused on driving efficiencies across the organization and executing the three pillars that define our new chapter of Mission Critical — maintaining momentum in the first chapter of Mission Critical, reenergizing the core customer base, and optimizing our cost to serve through productivity improvements. While headwinds in our end markets continue for now, we are laser focused on realizing our long-term goals of achieving adjusted operating margin in the mid-teens and driving 400 basis points of growth above the Industrial Production index over the cycle. We are setting a clear path to get MSC back to our historically strong performance."
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The November/December issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about Kimball Midwest. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dirk Beveridge, Frank Hurtte, and Mike Marks, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
