Genuine Parts Company, the parent company of Motion Industries and EIS Inc., reported its 2015 fourth quarter and full year fiscal results on Tuesday. Motion Industries and EIS were No. 10 and 23, respectively, on Industrial Distribution's 2015 Big 50 List.
At Motion Industries – GPC's industrial business – Q4 sales of $1.1 billion were down 7.6 percent year-over-year, while operating profit was down 24.8 percent to $72.5 million. GPC said the sales decrease included an 8 percent decrease in organic sales and a negative 1 percent impact from currency headwinds.
For the full year, Motion Industries' 2015 sales of $4.65 billion were down 2.6 percent from 2014, while operating profit of $339.2 million was down 8.3 percent.
At EIS – GPC's electrical/electronic materials business – Q4 sales of $177.2 million were nearly identical to the same period a year ago, while operating profit of $16.1 million was a 6.6 percent increase. GPC said the sales decline included a 2.5 percent decrease in organic sales, and a negative 1.5 percent impact from copper pricing, while acquisitions had a 4 percent growth impact.
For the full year, EIS' 2015 sales of $750.8 million were up 1.6 percent from 2014, while operating profit of $70.2 million was up 8.1 percent.
"As we entered the fourth quarter we had anticipated a challenging sales environment. That said, we are pleased with the positive underlying sales growth in our automotive business as well as the solid industry fundamentals supporting our growth initiatives," said Tom Gallagher, GPC's chairman and CEO. "Our non-automotive businesses, however, and in particular the industrial and electrical distribution segments, were further challenged by the difficult macro-economic environment."
Along with its automotive and office products segments, in addition to Motion Industries and EIS, GPC had total Q4 sales of $3.68 billion, down 3.7 percent year-over-year. Total profit of $161.3 million was down 2.6 percent. Organic sales declined 2 percent year-over-year in Q4, while currency headwinds hurt sales by 3 percent.
For the full year, GPC's 2015 sales of $15.3 billion were essentially flat compared to 2014, while profit of $705.7 million was down 0.8 percent from 2014.
