WESCO International, No. 5 on Industrial Distribution's 2014 Big 50 List, reported its 2015 first quarter financials on Thursday for the period ended March 31.
The company posted total sales of $1.82 billion, an increase of 0.3 percent year-over-year from Q1 2014. Organic sales increased 3.2 percent, with acquisitions positively impacting sales 1.2 percent while foreign exchange rates had a negative 2.5 percent impact.
The company reported net profit of $47.0 million, down 9.4 percent YOY, while operating profit was $87.2 million, compared to last year's $93.0 million.
John J. Engel, WESCO's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We had a challenging start to the year where reduced demand in the industrial market, winter weather impacts, and foreign exchange headwinds weighed heavily on our results in the first quarter. While organic sales per workday grew 3 percent, sales momentum decelerated through the quarter.
Engel said that along with slightly revising its full year outlook, WESCO will consolidate a series of branches and reduce structural costs while adding to its salesforce to "address undeserved territories and customer accounts."
Mr. Engel continued, "We expect reduced demand in commodity-driven industrial end markets and foreign exchange headwinds to continue throughout this year. As a result, we are taking additional actions to accelerate our One WESCO sales initiatives and simplify and streamline our business."
