W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW), a broad line supplier of facilities maintenance products, Monday reported a 10% decline in its daily sales for May 2009, impacted by weakened demand across all customer end markets and geographies.
The Lake Forest, Illinois-based company said sales were negatively affected by about 2 percentage points due to foreign exchange. The company's sales from pandemic related product as a result of the H1N1 virus outbreak benefited sales by 1 percentage point.
W.W. Grainger noted that during May 2009, there were 20 selling days compared to 21 days in May 2008. The second quarter of fiscal year 2009 has 64 selling days, the same number as the second quarter of fiscal 2008.
Segment-wise, sales in United States declined 9% for May 2009 from last year, while in Canada, sales plunged 14% from the same period last year. Sales in other businesses slumped 17% from May 2008.
GWW closed Friday's trading at $82.99 on the NYSE.
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