MRC Global Sales Returned to YoY Growth in Q2 as E-Commerce Sales Hit 40%

The company had seen year-over-year sales declines since well before the pandemic began.

Mrc Global Er

MRC Global, which brands itself as the largest global distributor of PVF products and services, reported its 2021 second quarter financial results on Thursday, showing a long-awaited return to year-over-year sales growth and continued sequential gains.

Houston-based MRC posted total Q2 sales of $686 million, up 14.0 percent year-over-year — marking the company's first year-over-year increase since well before the COVID-19 pandemic began. In Q1, sales were still down 23 percent year-over-year. Sequentially, Q2 sales improved 12.6 percent, far outpacing the 5 percent sequential from Q4 2020 to Q1 2021.

"Sequentially, gas utilities led the revenue growth as customers continued executing integrity upgrade plans on their natural gas distribution networks," the company said Thursday. "As compared to the second quarter of 2020, broad economic recovery drove improvement in sales across all sectors, except midstream pipeline."

MRC's Q2 gross profit of $112 million jumped 41.8 percent year-over year, with gross margin of 16.3 percent up 320 basis points. Q2 operating profit was $10 million ($3M in Q1), whereas the company took a $287 million net loss a year earlier. MRC took a $2 million net loss in Q2, compared to a $287 million loss a year earlier and a $3 million net loss in Q1.

E-commerce represented 40 percent of MRC's total Q2 revenue (38 percent in Q1), including 48 percent of North American revenue (46 percent in Q1). 

Geographically, MRC's Q1 US sales were 81.3 percent of the company's total (79.5 percent in Q1) and were up approximately 18 percent year-over-year. Canada sales were up 7 percent, while International sales dipped 2 percent.

By end market in Q2, gas utilities sales (39 percent of total) were up 31 percent year-over year; downstream and industrial sales (28 percent of total) were up 9 percent; upstream production sales (21 percent of total) were up 7 percent; and midstream pipeline sales (12 percent of total) were up 5 percent.

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