Wesco has unveiled weaker-than-expected earnings for the 2023 fourth quarter.
In the Tuesday earnings report, the industrial and electrical distributor – #7 on the ID Big 50 List – announced Q4 net sales declines of 2% YOY, with organic sales down 3%.
While CEO John Engel said the Q4 performance was “below our expectations,” there were prevailing bright spots for Wesco as well, including full-year net sales growth of 5%.
Engel described the year as “unique,” adding that robust growth in certain segments – including industrial, utility, data and network infrastructure – was enough to counteract underperforming segments like construction.
Said Engel, “Wesco navigated through this mixed economic environment while managing changing customer buying patterns as supply chains healed. I'm proud that our team delivered approximately 5% revenue growth in 2023 following two years of double-digit increases.”
Factors contributing to the Q4 slide, said Engel, included stock and flow sales that were below expectations, as well as delays in projects that were expected to be shipped in December. Declines were also relative to a strong Q4 ‘22, where sales had increased 15%. Despite this, Engel describes the company’s backlog as stable, with quoting and bid levels “very healthy.”
Wesco projects sales growth between 1% and 4% in 2024
