Applied Industrial Technologies reported more than $1.1 billion in net sales in its latest fiscal quarter on Thursday, a 15.4% increase compared to the same period last year.
The company’s net income of $97.2 million, meanwhile, was up 42.3% over that span, and its $333.1 million gross profit represented an increase of about 16%.
The numbers prompted the Cleveland-based distributor to raise its outlook heading into the final quarter of the fiscal year.
“We continued to expand gross margins while remaining focused on managing costs given the current backdrop,” Applied President and CEO Neil Schrimsher said in a statement. “These dynamics drove strong EBITDA margin expansion and earnings growth.”
The company said acquisitions bolstered its sales totals by 0.7%, while foreign currency translation dented the number by 0.3%. Organic sales were up by 15% year-over-year, including a 16.1% increase in its “Service Center” segment and a 13.1% hike in “Engineered Solutions.”
Executives said the company expects overall industry activity to moderate as customers “rebalance spending levels against current macro uncertainty.” Applied tightened its sales growth forecast to between 14% and 15% and raised its projections for both earnings and EBITDA margins. Sales were on track for “single-digit” percentage growth with a few days left in April.
“Our diverse mix of growth tailwinds and business evolution puts us in a favorable position to sustain above-market growth,” Schrimsher said.
Applied is the no. 8 distributor on ID’s latest Big 50.
