After months of decline, Fastenal Co. fastener sales are achieving double-digit growth in 2017.

Fastenal reported fastener sales increased 14.1% in November, compared to a 16.6% sales gain of non-fastener products.

Overall sales at Fastenal rose 15.4% to $365.5 million in November, with daily sales up 15.4% to $17.4 million. Sales in the U.S. increased 13.8%, while total North American sales improved 15%.

Fastenal reported daily sales of fasteners increased 11.5% in October, compared to a 15.5% daily sales growth rate for non-fastener products. 

Third Quarter
In the third quarter of 2017, Fastenal’s daily fastener sales grew 12.1% to approximately $403 million, with 3.8 percentage points attributable to the recently acquired Mansco business.

Overall Q3 sales gained 11.8% to $1.13 billion. Daily sales growth reached 15.3% to $18 million, driven by higher unit sales.

“We have not seen daily sales growth above 15% for almost three years (late 2014),” stated CEO Dan Florness.

Q3 operating income gained 12.6% to $228.5 million, while gross profit as a percentage of sales declined 20 basis points to 49.1% and net earnings increased 12.7% to $143.1 million.

Fastenal signed 4,771 industrial vending machines during Q3, pushing the company’s installed device count up 14.3% to 69,058.

Second Quarter
Fastenal reported daily sales of fastener products, which represented 36.1% of sales in the second quarter of 2017, grew 7.9% to $404.9 million, of which 3.6 percentage points were attributable to Mansco.

Daily sales of non-fastener products grew 12.2% during Q2.

Quarterly operating income improved to 21.2%, while net earnings rose 13.2% to $148.9 and gross profit, as a percentage of net sales, improved 30 basis points to 49.8%. 

“The second quarter of 2017 felt more like Fastenal,” stated Florness.

During Q2, Fastenal signed 4,881 industrial vending machines, a 0.3% increase. The company’s installed device count improved 14.1% to 66,577.

First Quarter
Fastenal reported fastener sales, which represented 35.6% of net sales in the first quarter of 2017, grew 0.8% to $373.8 million during the period. Quarterly results were improved by a 1.5% gain in fastener sales in February, marking the company’s first uptick in fastener sales since the third quarter of 2015.

“Our fastener sales, which are really indicators of the economy in all honesty, have struggled ever since the second quarter of 2015,” Florness told investors during a conference call. “And that business grew, returned to growth in the first quarter.”

Sales of non-fastener products rose 9.4% in Q1.

New industrial vending machine orders increased 17% during the first quarter.

During 2016, fastener sales declined 2.3%, while in 2015 fastener sales fell 1.4%. Web: Fastenal.com

For ongoing coverage of Fastenal’s financial performance, visit the Stock Review section of GlobalFastenerNews.com.