Industrial and construction supplies provider Fastenal Co. (FAST) Wednesday reported a higher first-quarter profit, as net sales grew about 5 percent from last year. Earnings per share were in line with analysts' expectations, while revenues missed view. The board also declared a higher quarterly dividend.
In the first quarter, the company's net earnings increased to $109.05 million or $0.37 per share from $100.19 million or $0.34 per share in the previous year.
On average, 11 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings per share of $0.37 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.
Net sales for the quarter grew 4.9 percent to $806.33 million, but came below analysts' estimate of $815.10 million. The company said its net sales were mainly driven by higher unit sales.
According to the firm, sales growth in the first quarter of 2013 was impacted by the loss of one business day compared to the prior year. Adjusted to a daily basis, sales growth was 6.5 percent in the recent quarter. Fastenal defined daily sales as sales for the period divided by the number of business days in the period.
The company said its growth was achieved by continuously adding customers and by increasing activity with each customer.
The firm believes that the weakness in the economy in the prior-year fourth quarter and the first quarter of 2013, particularly in the non-residential construction market, was amplified by the economic policy uncertainty in the US.
In addition, Fastenal's board has declared a dividend of $0.20 per share, to shareholders of record on May 2, 2013, payable on May 30. In 2012, the company paid four quarterly dividends of $0.17 in February, $0.17 in May, $0.19 in August, $0.21 in November, and paid a special supplemental dividend of $0.50 in December.
The company did not purchase any stock in the first quarter of 2013. Fastenal said it currently has authority to buy up to 1.8 million shares of its common stock.
During the first quarter, the firm opened 11 new stores, an increase of 0.4 percent since December 2012. As at the end of March 2013, the company had 2,660 stores.
FAST closed Tuesday's regular trading at $50.88 on the Nasdaq. In the pre-market activity, the shares are down 3.09 percent.
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