MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (MSM) has reported a 4.78 percent rise in profit for the quarter ended Sep. 03, 2016. The company has earned $61.85 million, or $1.02 a share in the quarter, compared with $59.02 million, or $0.96 a share for the same period last year.
Revenue during the quarter went up marginally by 2.43 percent to $745.07 million from $727.40 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter contracted 14 basis points over the previous year period to 44.84 percent. Total expenses were 86.68 percent of quarterly revenues, down from 86.88 percent for the same period last year. This has led to an improvement of 20 basis points in operating margin to 13.32 percent.
Operating income for the quarter was $99.25 million, compared with $95.44 million in the previous year period.
Erik Gershwind, president and chief executive officer, said, "Conditions remained very difficult throughout the fourth quarter, much as they have for the past few quarters. Low oil prices and the strong US dollar continued to depress demand, particularly in metalworking and heavy manufacturing. Despite these headwinds, our execution remains strong, including continued share gains, sustained gross margin stabilization and strong expense controls."
For the first-quarter 2017, MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. projects revenue to be in the range of $676 million to $688 million. On an adjusted basis, the company forecasts diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $0.90 to $0.94.
Operating cash flow improves significantly
MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has generated cash of $401.10 million from operating activities during the year, up 60.58 percent or $151.31 million, when compared with the last year.
The company has spent $87.93 million cash to meet investing activities during the year as against cash outgo of $51.40 million in the last year.
The company has spent $298.37 million cash to carry out financing activities during the year as against cash outgo of $207.04 million in the last year period.
Cash and cash equivalents stood at $52.89 million as on Sep. 03, 2016, up 38.21 percent or $14.62 million from $38.27 million on Aug. 29, 2015.
Debt increases substantially
MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has witnessed an increase in total debt over the last one year. It stood at $606.82 million as on Sep. 03, 2016, up 42.02 percent or $179.54 million from $427.28 million on Aug. 29, 2015. Total debt was 29.39 percent of total assets as on Sep. 03, 2016, compared with 20.34 percent on Aug. 29, 2015. Debt to equity ratio was at 0.55 as on Sep. 03, 2016, up from 0.32 as on Aug. 29, 2015. Interest coverage ratio deteriorated to 56.65 for the quarter from 61.42 for the same period last year.
Disclaimer: Please note that this is an auto-generated article. IRIS does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information. IRIS especially states that it has no financial liability whatsoever to any user on account of the use of information provided on its website. For queries contact: editor@irisindia.net
