MSC Industrial Reports Fiscal 2021 Third Quarter Results

MELVILLE, N.Y. and DAVIDSON, N.C., July 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

FISCAL 2021 Q3 HIGHLIGHTS

• Net sales of $866.3 million, a 3.8% increase from the prior year quarter (2.2% on an average daily sales basis)
• $20.8 million loss recovery related to the nitrile glove impairment originally recorded in the fiscal first quarter
• Operating income of $128.6 million, or $109.5 million excluding loss recovery, restructuring and other costs¹
• Operating margin of 14.8%, or 12.6% excluding the adjustments described above¹
• Diluted EPS of $1.68 vs. $1.40 in the prior year quarter; Adjusted diluted EPS of $1.42, same as prior year¹
• Repurchased 507,000 shares during the quarter

MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO., INC. (NYSE: MSM), "MSC Industrial" or the "Company", a leading North American distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services, today reported financial results for its fiscal 2021 third quarter ended May 29, 2021.

Erik Gershwind, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "The economic environment improved significantly and most of our manufacturing end markets turned positive during our fiscal third quarter. Total company sales returned to growth and, while muted by PPE-related comparisons, our non-safety and non-janitorial product lines grew 21 percent. Execution on our Mission Critical initiatives continued at a high level and we have lifted our expectations both in terms of gross and net savings for fiscal 2021."

Kristen Actis-Grande, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, added, "Average daily sales growth turned positive during our fiscal third quarter and was 2.2 percent. Solid execution of our March price increase contributed to a lift in our gross margin sequentially to 42.3 percent. On our Mission Critical programs, we delivered another $12 million of gross savings, bringing our cumulative savings for fiscal 2021 to $29 million, against our original goal of $25 million. We also reinvested approximately $7 million into growth programs, bringing our cumulative investment for fiscal 2021 to roughly $15 million. In total, we now expect to drive gross savings of $40 million and to invest roughly $25 million in fiscal 2021, such that we will achieve net savings above our original goal of $10 million for the year. Finally, we continued to use our strong balance sheet to support our customers with higher inventory levels and our shareholders through our share buyback program."

Gershwind concluded, "We are gaining steam internally and our end markets are strengthening. Strong execution on our Mission Critical initiatives will further support our share capture programs and deliver additional savings over the next two years and beyond. We remain on-track to achieve our goals of growing sales 400 basis points above the Industrial Production Index and returning ROIC to the high teens by the end of fiscal 2023."

Conference Call Information 

MSC Industrial will host a conference call today at 8:30 a.m. EDT to review the Company's fiscal 2021 third quarter results. The call, accompanying slides, and other operational statistics may be accessed at: http://investor.mscdirect.com. The conference call may also be accessed at 1-877-443-5575 (U.S.), 1-855-669-9657 (Canada) or 1-412-902-6618 (international).

An online archive of the broadcast will be available under the events section at http://investor.mscdirect.com for one year.

The Company's reporting date for fiscal 2021 fourth quarter and full year results is scheduled for October 20, 2021.

About MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc.

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) is a leading North American distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services. We help our customers drive greater productivity, profitability and growth with approximately 1.9 million products, inventory management and other supply chain solutions, and deep expertise from 80 years of working with customers across industries. Our experienced team of more than 6,200 associates is dedicated to working side by side with our customers to help drive results for their businesses - from keeping operations running efficiently today to continuously rethinking, retooling, and optimizing for a more productive tomorrow. For more information on MSC Industrial, please visit mscdirect.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements 

Statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that we expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future, including statements about the future impact of COVID-19 on our business operations, results of operations and financial condition, expected future results, expected benefits from our investment and strategic plans and other initiatives, and expected future growth, profitability and return on invested capital, are forward-looking statements. The words "will,", "may," "believes," "anticipates," "thinks," "expects," "estimates," "plans," "intends," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The inclusion of any statement in this press release does not constitute an admission by MSC Industrial or any other person that the events or circumstances described in such statement are material. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include the following, many of which are and will be amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our sales, operations and supply chain; general economic conditions in the markets in which we operate, including conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; changing customer and product mixes; competition, including the adoption by competitors of aggressive pricing strategies and sales methods; industry consolidation and other changes in the industrial distribution sector; our ability to realize the expected benefits from our investment and strategic plans, including our transition from being a spot-buy supplier to a mission-critical partner to our customers; our ability to realize the expected cost savings and benefits from our restructuring activities and structural cost reductions; the retention of key personnel; volatility in commodity and energy prices; the credit risk of our customers, including changes in credit risk as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; the risk of customer cancellation or rescheduling of orders; difficulties in calibrating customer demand for our products, in particular personal protective equipment or "PPE" products, which could cause an inability to sell excess products ordered from manufacturers resulting in inventory write-downs or could conversely cause inventory shortages of such products; work stoppages, labor shortages or other business interruptions (including those due to extreme weather conditions or as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic) at transportation centers, shipping ports, our headquarters or our customer fulfillment centers; disruptions or breaches of our information systems, or violations of data privacy laws; the retention of qualified sales and customer service personnel and metalworking specialists; the risk of loss of key suppliers or key brands or supply chain disruptions, including due to import restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; changes to governmental trade policies, including the impact from significant import restrictions or tariffs; risks related to opening or expanding our customer fulfillment centers; our ability to estimate the cost of healthcare claims incurred under our self-insurance plan; litigation risk due to the nature of our business; risks associated with the integration of acquired businesses or other strategic transactions; financial restrictions on outstanding borrowings; our ability to maintain our credit facilities; the interest rate uncertainty due to the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") reform; the failure to comply with applicable environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including government action in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and other laws applicable to our business; the outcome of government or regulatory proceedings or future litigation; goodwill and intangible assets recorded resulting from our acquisitions could be impaired; our common stock price may be volatile due to factors outside of our control; and our principal shareholders exercise significant control over us, which may result in our taking actions or failing to take actions that are in the best interests of other shareholders. Additional information concerning these and other risks is described under "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual and Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, respectively, and in the other reports and documents that we file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable law.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

• Results Excluding Impairment Loss (Loss Recovery), Restructuring Costs, Inventory Write-downs, and Other Charges

To supplement MSC Industrial's unaudited selected financial data presented consistent with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP"), the Company discloses certain non-GAAP financial measures, including non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP operating expenses, non-GAAP income from operations, non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP provision for income taxes, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share, that exclude impairment losses (loss recovery), restructuring costs, inventory write-downs related to certain PPE inventory, and other related costs and tax effects.

These non-GAAP financial measures are not presented in accordance with GAAP or an alternative for GAAP financial measures and may be different from similar non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures and should only be used to evaluate MSC Industrial's results of operations in conjunction with the corresponding GAAP financial measures.

In calculating non-GAAP financial measures, we exclude impairment losses (loss recovery), restructuring costs, inventory write-downs related to certain PPE inventory, and other related costs and tax effects.  Management makes these adjustments to facilitate a review of the Company's operating performance on a comparable basis between periods, for comparison with forecasts and strategic plans, for identifying and analyzing trends in the Company's underlying business and for benchmarking performance externally against competitors. We believe that investors benefit from seeing results from the perspective of management in addition to seeing results presented in accordance with GAAP for the same reasons and purposes for which management uses such non-GAAP financial measures.

SOURCE MSC Industrial Supply Co.