CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Applied Industrial Technologies today reported results for its fourth quarter and fiscal 2011 year ended June 30, 2011.
Fiscal 2011 full-year sales were a record $2,212,849,000, up 16.9% from fiscal 2010 sales of $1,893,208,000. Net income for the year was a record $96,759,000, or $2.24 per share, compared with $65,903,000, or $1.54 per share in fiscal 2010, an increase in net income of 46.8%.
Quarterly performance also set new records with net sales for the fourth quarter of $589,861,000, up 12.8% from $523,071,000 in the prior-year quarter. Net income for the quarter was $28,275,000 or $0.65 per share, up 2.1% from $27,704,000 or $0.64 in the same quarter last year.
Comparing 2011 fourth quarter net income to the same period last year, 2011 included $4.8 million of expense for the development of Applied's new ERP system, an expense which did not occur in fiscal 2010. Additionally, last year's fourth quarter net income was bolstered by a substantially higher LIFO layer liquidation benefit.
Commenting on results, Applied Chairman & Chief Executive Officer David L. Pugh said, "We had an excellent year, turning in our highest year-over-year percentage sales increase since 1998, and exceeding all expectations on net income. Our sales growth initiatives during the year were very effective and, combined with our attention to detail and our balanced approach to operating fundamentals, enabled us to generate strong earnings growth.
"For the second year in a row, our asset management efforts positioned us to record LIFO benefits and provided excellent cash flow. We ended the year debt free, which puts us in an excellent position to pursue accretive acquisitions.
"We have made good progress on our ERP implementation. We are on-time and on-budget as I would have expected given our advance planning and the level of oversight we have extended to the project." Pugh continued, "First implementation with certain of our Canadian businesses is expected by calendar year end, and we will then roll it out to other North American businesses over the next two years. We fully expect that the new system will contribute to greater productivity, enhanced profitability, improved visibility, and more efficient overall operation of Applied's business.
"Looking forward, we believe we'll see continued improvement in our results, although at a slower pace than we have recently experienced due to tougher comparables and a weaker industrial economy. Based on these expectations, we are providing earnings per share guidance for fiscal 2012 in the range of $2.40 to $2.55, on expected sales of $2.35 billion to $2.45 billion."
