4/16/2014 11:21:00 PM
NEWS BRIEFS
Declining Sales in Canada Limit Grainger Growth
Grainger reported sales, including fasteners, rose 5% to $2.4 billion in the first quarter of 2014, boosted by 2 percentage points from acquisitions. Excluding acquisitions and foreign exchange, organic sales increased 5%, driven by higher volumes and prices. Those gains were partially offset by business disruptions due to “the extreme weather that closed some customer and Grainger facilities across parts of North America during the months of January and February.”
Q1 gross profit margin decreased 0.1 percentage point to 45.1%, driven by lower gross margins from the newly acquired businesses. Operating earnings grew 3% to $354 million.
United States
U.S. sales gained 7% to $1.9 billion in Q1, which included organic sales growth of 5% as market demand increased. Segment operating earnings improved 7% to $353.7 million.
Canada
Acklands-Grainger sales decreased 10% in U.S. dollars to $254.3 million on lower volumes. Segment operating earnings dropped 35% to $21.3 million.
“The business in Canada continues to be negatively affected by a weak macroeconomic environment, unfavorable currency exchange, lower commodity prices and a reduction of Canadian exports.”
Other Businesses
Sales for the Other Businesses, which includes operations primarily in Asia, Europe and Latin America, increased 11% to $274.9 million, helped by volume growth and price gains. Grainger said sales growth in the Other Businesses segment was driven by Zoro Tools and the businesses in Mexico and Japan. Q1 segment operating earnings leveled off at $8 million. ©2014 GlobalFastenerNews.com
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Related Links:
• Grainger
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