MSC Industrial Q3 Profit Tops Estimates - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc. (MSM) reported third-quarter GAAP net income of $63.3 million, or $1.03 per share, compared to $64.7 million, or $1.03 per share, a year ago. Excluding the after-tax effects of non-recurring costs, adjusted net income for the fiscal third quarter was $63.5 million, or $1.03 per share.

On average, 13 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report profit per share of $0.96 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. Net sales for the fiscal third quarter were $745.5 million compared to net sales of $720.5 million in the same quarter a year ago, an increase of 3.5% on an average daily sales basis. Analysts expected revenue of $744.80 million for the quarter.

Jeff Kaczka, CFO, said, "Despite the challenging demand environment, we achieved earnings per share well above our guidance range. A key driver was the prompt actions that we took to manage our operating expenses. We achieved operating expenses as a percent of sales at the same level as the year ago quarter, even though sales growth was only low single-digits and we increased our investment spending. The second driver was another quarter of gross margin stabilization, which reflected our successful countermeasure efforts, offset by the gross margin headwinds from large account growth and the soft pricing environment."

MSC expects net sales for fiscal fourth quarter to be between $735 million and $747 million. The company expects GAAP and adjusted earnings per share for the fourth quarter to be between $0.93 and $0.97. Analysts expect the company to report fourth-quarter earnings per share of $0.99 on revenue of $756.38 million.