An analysis on Fastenal, OSHA's 2014 most cited workplace safety violations and financial updates from Big 50 companies Airgas and HD Supply led the top items of the past week.
Here's this week's Top 5.
Jack Keough: Looking Back, And Ahead On Fastenal (Article): ID contributing editor Jack Keough discusses Fastenal's 2014 - in which it closed 52 stores and opened 24 - as well as the factors that impacted revenue last year and will continue to going forward.
Are You In Compliance? OSHA’s 10 Most Cited Violations (Article): Grainger Show 2015's seminar, "Avoiding OSHA's Top 10 Safety Violations," provided insight on the most frequently issued citations in 2014 and gave industry best practices for reducing those hazards.
Airgas Slashes Q4 Organic Sales Growth Outlook: Shared just after last week's Top 5 was posted last Friday, ID's No. 8 Big 50 company provided a negative update on organic sales growth for its fourth quarter ending March 31, and issued a revised earnings guidance.
"Organic sales growth has been disappointing this quarter," said Airgas President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Molinini. "Organic sales year-over-year growth rates, which were 6 percent in the December quarter, have moved lower this quarter. Based on sales to date and current trends, we now expect year-over-year organic growth for our fourth quarter to be in the range of 1 percent to 2 percent, compared to growth of 6 percent to 7 percent which was assumed in our guidance. ... While we anticipated near-term sales challenges due to the uncertainty caused by the significant and rapid decline in oil prices and the impact of the strong dollar on manufacturers that export, we are experiencing greater than anticipated declines in growth rates in our Energy & Chemicals and Manufacturing customer segments," Molinini continued.
HD Supply Takes $93M Loss In Q4: ID's Big 50 No. 4 company reported its 2014 fourth quarter and full-year financials on Tuesday, including fourth quarter revenues of $2.01 billion, up 7.2 year-over-year from Q4 2013. HD Supply had a net loss for the quarter of $93 million, compared to a $66 million loss in Q4 2013. The Q4 net loss included a $106 million loss on extinguishment and modification of debt. Net loss for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 was $66 million, which included a $12 million restructuring charge. Net sales for November, December and January were $648 million, $587 million, and $770 million, respectively. Preliminary Net sales in February were $630 million.
For the full year, the company reported a sales increase of 8 percent over 2013 to $9 billion. HD Supply had a full year net income of $3 million, compared to a net loss of $218 million in 2013.
The Importance Of Video For Industrial Distributors (Article): Johnstone Supply Regional Sales Manager Darrell Sterling provides some insight on places to start for incorporating videos into your business to aid with sales.
