MELVILLE, N.Y. -- MSC Industrial Direct one of the largest direct marketers and premier distributors of Metalworking and Maintenance, Repair and Operations ("MRO") supplies to industrial customers throughout the United States, recently reported financial results for its first quarter ended November 27, 2010.
For the fiscal 2011 first quarter, net sales rose 22.9% to $472.8 million, compared with $384.8 million in the prior year period. Operating income increased 51.2% in the fiscal 2011 first quarter to $77.2 million, or 16.3% of net sales, compared with $51.0 million, or 13.3% of net sales, in the prior year period. For the first quarter of fiscal 2011, the Company reported net income of $47.6 million, an increase of 51.4% over net income of $31.4 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2010. Diluted earnings per share in the fiscal 2011 first quarter were $0.75 (based on 62.8 million diluted shares outstanding), compared to $0.50 (based on 62.7 million diluted shares outstanding) in the same period a year ago, an increase of 50.0%.
David Sandler, President and Chief Executive Officer said, "Our first quarter results reflect strong performance in a highly competitive environment. We made solid progress executing on our strategic investment program designed to capitalize on the unique opportunity we see to leverage our model and fuel further market share gains. In addition, we recently completed the acquisition of Rutland Tool & Supply Co. ("Rutland") which supports our growth strategy by further strengthening our presence in metalworking while also building out our presence in the Western U.S."
Erik Gershwind, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, stated, "We saw excellent revenue growth in the first quarter against more challenging comparables, driven by strong market share gains, the resurgence of the U.S. manufacturing base and strong performance within our core customer base. These factors more than offset some slowing in demand from government customers, who are feeling more financial restraints as their budgets remain under pressure. Overall, we are encouraged by improving customer sentiment and the macro indicators in the market."
Mr. Sandler concluded, "We are pleased with our progress in delivering on our strategic objectives of disproportionate revenue growth, generating significant operating leverage and investing for the future. We have never been more confident in our position to capitalize on the opportunities ahead of us."
For the fiscal 2011 second quarter, the Company expects net sales to be between $466.0 million and $478.0 million, which includes approximately $6.0 million in sales from the recently completed acquisition of Rutland, and expects diluted earnings per share for the second quarter of fiscal 2011 to be between $0.66 and $0.70, which includes dilution of $0.03 from the Rutland acquisition, primarily arising from acquisition and integration costs.
