MSC Industrial Direct Co Inc. (NYSE:MSM) headed sharply downward Wednesday on reporting third-quarter financial numbers.
The Melville, New York-based company, a premier distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations products and services to industrial customers throughout North America, today reported net sales of $835.0 million, a 3.6% YoY decrease
Operating income was $109.9 million, compared to $110.5 million in the prior year, while the operating margin was 13.2%, 40 basis points above the prior year period. Diluted EPS was $1.40, compared to $1.44 in the prior year
Said CEO Erik Gershwind, "Our company rose to the occasion in the face of the most severe crisis most of us have seen in our lifetimes. Our fiscal third quarter results reflect strong execution in a tough environment. Weakness in industrial demand was pretty much across the board, with sustained and acute softness in metalworking-centric end markets such as automotive, aerospace, and oil and gas.
"Our own results for the quarter benefited from the surge in demand for safety and janitorial products, but this was more than offset by the COVID-19 impacts on the rest of the business. The surge in demand for safety and janitorial supplies subsided in fiscal June, while customer re-openings only provided a modest improvement in underlying sales levels.
"Given the ongoing unprecedented uncertainty and lack of visibility going forward,” the news release continued, “we will continue not giving quarterly EPS guidance, and will continue providing monthly updates following our month-end close on average daily sales developments, as well as comments on the business trends that we have seen over the course of the month."
MSM lost $3.87, or 5.3%, to $69.86.
