MSC Industrial Direct Q3 Profit Rises; Sees Q4 Adj. EPS Below View - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - MSC Industrial Direct co., Inc. (MSM), a premier distributor of Metalworking and Maintenance, Repair and Operations supplies to industrial customers throughout North America, reported that its GAAP net income for the fiscal third quarter 2014 increased to $64.7 million or $1.03 per share, from $62.4 million or $0.98 per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

Excluding the after tax effects of non-recurring costs, adjusted net income for the fiscal third quarter 2014 was $66.2 million, or $1.06 per share, compared to $66.7 million, or $1.05 per share last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.06 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales for the third quarter were $720.5 million, an increase of 13.1% over net sales of $636.9 million in the year ago quarter. Wall Street analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $727.26 million for the quarter.

Jeff Kaczka, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, said, "We delivered adjusted EPS towards the higher end of our guidance, reflecting our ability to leverage our sales growth. With one quarter remaining in our fiscal 2014, we remain on-track to achieve an annual adjusted operating margin consistent with our fiscal 2014 operating framework, and our infrastructure and growth initiatives are progressing well and on schedule."

MSC expects net sales for fiscal fourth quarter 2014 to be between $718 million and $730 million. At the midpoint, average daily sales growth is expected to be 7.5 percent, which includes CCSG sales that are expected to be growing at a lower rate than the MSC base business. The company expects adjusted earnings per share for the fiscal fourth quarter 2014 to be between $0.98 and $1.02. Analysts expect the company to report earnings of $1.07 per share and revenues of $728.11 million for the fourth-quarter.

The company expects non-recurring integration costs related to the Class C Solutions Group acquisition to impact GAAP earnings per share by approximately 2 cents in the fiscal fourth quarter.