Rexel’s 2007 sales rise 3.2 percent
Industrial Distribution staff -- Industrial Distribution, 2/14/2008 6:50:00 AM
Rexel posted sales of $14.67 billion last year, up 3.2 percent compared with $14.22 billion during the prior year.Net income for the French electrical distributor slid 24 percent to $196.6 million, compared with $258.8 million during 2006, on expenses related to the company’s IPO. Excluding the $231.5 million Rexel spent on the offering last year, net income rose 65.3 percent to $427.9 million.
Fourth-quarter sales rose 2.4 percent to $3.73 billion, up from $3.64 billion during the same period in 2006. Quarterly net income of $77.5 million rose 49.9 percent, compared to 51.8 million during the fourth quarter of the prior year; excluding IPO expenses, net income rose 97.9 percent to $102.5 million.
“We grew our business in Europe and Asia-Pacific by focusing our efforts on delivering greater value to our clients. In the U.S., Rexel strengthened its platform by integrating Gexpro ahead of schedule and demonstrated its ability to adapt its cost base to a difficult economic environment,” chairman and CEO Jean-Charles Pauze said. “Rexel is in good shape to acquire Hagemeyer. The retained European activities would reinforce our leading positions and increase our branch network in Europe by 50 percent. We are confident this strategic acquisition will result in a stronger platform for profitable growth and create more value for our shareholders.”
In North America, annual sales fell 1.4 percent to $6.58 billion, compared with $6.68 billion during 2006. Fourth quarter sales slipped 0.4 percent to $1.58 billion, from $1.59 billion during the fourth quarter of the prior year.
Rexel said sales in the United States decreased 2.4 percent as the post-hurricane recovery effort slowed and the slumping housing market took its toll. However, the Gexpro division posted double-digit sales growth. The company’s cost reduction plan in its U.S. electrical distribution business resulted in a 6.3 percent workforce cut. The company also said it completed a pair of acquisitions Jan. 31. Rexel bought Australia’s ABK, an industrial distributor based in Queensland with 10 employees and 2007 sales of $8.2 million; and San Diego-based Beacon Electric, a 70-employee distributor with two branches and 2006 sales of $49.4 million that Rexel plans to integrate into Gexpro.
Excluding its pending acquisition of Dutch rival Hagemeyer, Rexel said it expects organic sales “to be at or above their 2007 level” this year.
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