Heavy machinery and industrial parts distributor Wajax announced its 2024 third quarter financial results on Nov. 4 and announced the planned retirement of its chief financial officer.

Mississauga, Ontario-based Wajax posted 3Q net sales of $346.8 million USD, down 5.6% year-over-year. It followed a 2Q24 decline of 3.1%. 3Q24 gross margin of 19.2% decreased 300 basis points from a year earlier.

The company’s 3Q24 adjusted net profit of $4.6 million was down from the $16.8 million reported a year earlier. 3Q adjusted EBITDA of $26.9 million and EBITDA margin of 7.8% were down 25.3% and 20.8% year-over-year, respectively.

Wajax 3Q24 Revenue by Segment

• Equipment sales — $94.9 million, a 4.5% increase year-over-year
• Product support — $88.7 million, an 8.9% decrease year-over-year.
• Industrial parts — $98.3 million, a 15.3% decrease year-over-year
• Engineered repair services (ERS) — $56.3 million, a 1.9% increase year-over-year.
• Equipment rental — $8.5 million, a 6.1% increase year-over-year.

“Equipment sales in the quarter increased 4.5% over the prior year, despite the delivery of a large mining shovel in the third quarter of 2023 which did not recur this year,” Wajax President and CEO Iggy Domagalski said in the company’s financial release. “Softer than anticipated market conditions, resulting from reduced customer demand, together with increased competitive pressure, contributed to lower product support and industrial parts revenue and margins.”

CFO Succession

Also on Nov. 4, Wajax Chief Financial Officer Stuart Auld announced his planned retirement, effective March 4, 2025.

Following a succession planning process, current Corporate Controller Tania Casadinho will succeed Auld as CFO on the effective date. Casadinho joined Wajax in 2018, with over 16 years of experience in finance and accounting across the health services, nutrition and industrial sectors.

“Since joining Wajax in 2018, Tania has been a strong leader, taking on progressively more responsibility and challenge,” Domagalski said. “Among other things, she has significantly improved our budgeting and forecasting processes and introduced new analytical tools; she has also worked closely with senior leaders across the company and contributed greatly to our strategic planning process. Together, the board and I are confident Tania is the ideal person to maintain our disciplined approach to financial risk management, and we look forward to continuing to work with her in this new role as we pursue our strategic goals.”

Wajax was No. 4 on MDM’s Top Distributors List for Power Transmission/Bearings, No. 14 for MRO and No. 32 for Industrial Supply