Fastenal Co. (FAST), a wholesaler and retailer of industrial and construction supplies, Tuesday, reported lower fourth-quarter profit, hurt by lower sales and a loss on sale of property and equipment. On a per share basis, earnings missed analysts' forecast by a penny.
The company's fourth-quarter net earnings were $44.54 million or $0.30 per share, compared with $62.54 million or $0.42 per share last year. The year-over-year decline in earnings was 28.8%.
On average, 10 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.31 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Quarterly net sales declined 12.5% to $476.75 million from $544.96 million in the prior-year quarter. Seven analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $479.38 million for the quarter.
In the preceding third quarter, the Winona, Minnesota-based company reported net earnings of $47.59 million or $0.32 per share, on sales of $489.34 million.
According to the company, the weakened economy continues to have a substantial impact on its business, negatively affecting its sales, particularly related to its industrial production business and non-residential construction business.
In the fourth quarter, the company's non-residential construction business and sales to manufacturing customers declined approximately 24.7% and 10.1%, respectively. Although the remaining businesses produced better results as a group, those didn't have enough impact to offset the manufacturing and construction impact, Fastenal noted.
The industrial and construction supplies provider also incurred a loss of $60 thousands in the quarter on the sale of property and equipment, compared with a gain of $32 thousands in the prior-year period.
Fastenal also stated that average per gallon fuel costs reached $2.70 for diesel fuel and $2.54 for gasoline in the fourth quarter. Per gallon percentage changes for diesel fuel and gasoline were a decline of 13.2% and an increase of 2%, respectively.
For fiscal 2009, the company earned $184.36 million or $1.24 per share, down from $279.71 million or $1.88 per share a year ago. Full-year revenues were $1.93 billion, 17.5% lower than $2.34 billion reported in the previous year. Analysts projected full-year earnings of $1.25 per share with revenue estimate of $1.93 billion.
Fastenal opened 69 new stores in 2009, an increase of 3% since December 31, 2008. The company also closed ten store locations in 2009 and converted one location to a customer only type. As of December 31, 2009, Fastenal had 2,369 stores.
Based on the assumption of a stable economy, the company plans to continue to increase the rate of store openings, with the goal of resuming its historical rate of openings of 7% to 10% in the second half of 2010.
Fastenal stated that on December 18, 2009, it purchased certain assets of a domestic manufacturer of socket product, a type of fastener. The business has an established name, 'Holo-Krome' and has a good depth of knowledge with its approximately 90 employees. The company believes this business will be a good addition to serving the needs of its customers. Fastenal also said the acquisition is not expected to have a material impact on its overall sales in 2010.
The company has declared its first 2010 dividend of $0.40 per share, the payment of which will occur in late February 2010.
Among peers, Melville, New York-based MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (MSM) has reported a decrease in net profit for the first quarter of fiscal 2010, reflecting a drop in sales. The company's net earnings were $31.42 million or $0.50 per share, compared with $45.10 million or $0.72 per share in the prior-year quarter. Net sales slumped to $384.82 million from $433.02 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2009.
Another rival, W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW) is set to announce its fourth-quarter results on January 26. The company has projected fourth-quarter earnings in the range of $1.13 - $1.23 per share on sales that are expected in a range of down 2% to up 1%. Meanwhile, Wall Street analysts are looking for earnings of $1.24 per share on sales of $1.59 billion.
For fiscal 2009, W.W. Grainger sees earnings per share of $5.10 to $5.20 on sales that are expected to decline 9% to 10%. The earnings estimate excludes the $0.37 per share gain attributable to becoming the majority shareholder of MonotaRO Co., Ltd in September. For the full-year 2009, analysts expect earnings of $5.22 per share on revenues of $6.20 billion.
FAST is trading at $45.32 on the NYSE, down $0.54 or 1.18%, on a volume of 2.08 million shares.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.