Deerfield, IL-based Essendant, which rebranded from United Stationers effective June 1, announced Wednesday that it has appointed Robert Aiken Jr. as president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. Aiken had been serving as interim president and CEO since May 2015 and will continue as an Essendant Board member.
The company also reported its 2015 second quarter financial earnings on Thursday for the period ended June 30.
The supplier of workplace essentials had total sales of $1.34 billion, an increase of 1.6 percent from last year. Total profit of $30.3 million declined 9.2 percent from last year.
"In the second quarter we officially became Essendant, marking another major milestone in our journey to become the fastest and most convenient solution for workplace essentials," said Robert B. Aiken, Jr., president and CEO. "We continue to make solid progress executing our strategy as we strengthen the core business with a common operating platform, grow our e-commerce relationships and offerings, and expand our automotive aftermarket business with the recently announced Nestor Sales LLC acquisition. Our results reflect solid execution, particularly in light of increasing headwinds in the industrial and energy sectors."
Read More: United Stationers Officially Rebrands as Essendant
Essendant's sales of industrial supplies increased 48.1 percent year-over-year to $215 million, including $86.7 million of incremental sales from the CPO and MEDCO acquisitions made in 2014. The company said weakness in the energy and industrial sectors drove a $16.9 million sales decline in the core industrial business.
