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Breaking news in Wholesale Distribution
Industrial Distribution Group Inc., Atlanta, GA, reported sales in the first quarter 2007 were $135.1 million, down 3.7% from the same period a year ago. Profit was $1.5 million, equal to a year ago.
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For the first quarter, revenues from Flexible Procurement Solutions, IDG’s integrated supply offering including storeroom management, were $81.1 million, an increase of 0.7% from the first quarter 2006. FPS revenues were 60% of total first-quarter revenues as compared with the 57.4% reported in first quarter 2006.
As of March 31, 2007, the company had 336 total FPS sites, including 100 storeroom management arrangements. New FPS customers generated incremental revenue of $9.1 million for the first quarter of 2007, partially offset by a continued decline in …
Kaman Corp., Bloomfield, CT, reported sales for the first quarter 2007 were up 7% to $317.3 million. Profit was $10.1 million, up 70% from the same period a year ago.
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Kaman attributed the sales gain to improved performance in its Aerospace Segment. Aerospace Segment sales were $93.1 million, up 26.5% from last year.
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Industrial Distribution Segment sales for the first quarter of 2007 were $173.4 million, up 1.7% from the first quarter of 2006.
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Kaman reported the segment experienced a modest sales increase in a less certain economic environment compared to the prior year quarter. Despite the increase in sales, the segment experienced a decrease in operating income because the sales increase was not sufficient to cover increases in normal …
GE Supply will now be named Gexpro. The name change follows the acquisition of GE Supply by Rexel, Paris-based distributor of electrical supplies. Gexpro, a $2.7 billion unit, will continue to operate as an independent Rexel banner in the U.S.
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The brand will be formally announced May 6, 2007, at the National Association of Electrical Distributors meeting in Washington, D.C.
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Gexpro, Shelton, CT, is a full-line, international distributor of electrical parts, power generation products, voice and data equipment, fasteners and security equipment. In Ireland, the company will continue to do business as Kellihers …
Lab supplier VWR International, Inc., West Chester, PA, a portfolio company of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Inc., will be acquired by Madison Dearborn Partners.
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VWR had revenue of more than $3.2 billion in 2006. It is the second largest distributor in the global research lab supply industry, with customers in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, education and industry.
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Madison Dearborn Partners is a private equity investor in the U.S.
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VWR announced on March 12, 2007 that it was exploring strategic options for the …
Interline Brands, Inc., Jacksonville, FL, distributor and direct marketer of maintenance, repair and operations products, reported sales for the first quarter of 2007 increased 31.5% over the comparable 2006 period.
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Sales for the quarter ended March 30, 2007 were $295.4 million. Average organic daily sales growth for the first quarter was 3.2%. Profit was $9.4 million, compared with $8.4 million in the year-ago period.
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Michael Grebe, chairman and CEO, said Interline’s facilities maintenance business posted strong sales growth, despite softness in the pro contractor market, which fell 6.2%. The facilities maintenance businesses grew by 14.1% in the quarter. Grebe expects the pro contractor and specialty distributor end-markets to continue to be difficult …
BlueLinx Holdings Inc., Atlanta, GA, distributor of building products in North America, reported sales fell 30.5% to $957.1 million. The company recorded a net loss for the quarter of $189,000, compared with a profit of $9.8 million in the same period a year ago.
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We continued to operate in a challenging business environment during the first quarter,” CEO Stephen Macadam said. “The ongoing cyclical decline in housing starts and lower wood-based structural product prices, the key grades of which ended the quarter about 26% below year-earlier levels, combined to make the first quarter a continuation of one of the weakest business environments our industry has experienced in many years.”
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Macadam said that BlueLinx does not see any signs of significant …
DXP Enterprises, Inc. has agreed to buy Delta Process Equipment, Inc., a Southeastern U.S. supplier of industrial and municipal pump equipment and services, for $10 million.
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The unaudited sales and EBITDA of Delta Process for calendar 2006 were approximately $23 million and $2 million, respectively.
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Delta Process’territory stretches from Louisiana to Florida and north to Tennessee. Delta Process is a full service provider of pumps, pump repair and service, pump stations, water booster stations, sewage treatment plants, blowers, process gas compressors, controls, filtration equipment, and other ancillary products. Delta Process is fully equipped with fabricating, packaging and machining capabilities.
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John Jeffery, senior vice president …
Prices for petroleum and primary metal products caused prices for manufactured goods to surge in March. Raw material prices were pushed up mainly by prices for non-ferrous metals.
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From February to March, prices charged by manufacturers, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI), registered a fifth consecutive monthly increase. The  ; 1.3% rise in the index mainly reflected the strength of prices for petroleum and coal products and primary metal products.
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On a 12-month basis, the IPPI rose by  ; 4.8%, the strongest advance since October  ; 2004. The upward pressure came largely from higher prices for primary metal products and petroleum and coal products. The upward movement was tempered by a drop in prices for lumber and …
Metals service center Ryerson Inc., Chicago, IL, reported profit of $28.1 million on sales of $1.7 billion in the first quarter 2007, up 21% from the same period last year.
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“‘We were pleased with the progress we made in the first quarter of 2007,” said Neil S. Novich, president and CEO. “In the third quarter of 2006, we put in place new supply chain management and improved inventory processes. We saw the result in the first quarter of 2007 with current value of inventory down $241 million, or 15%, from the end of 2006, and we are on track to attain our goal of five turns by year-end 2007.
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“In mid-2006, we also began a project to address the profitability of five, large underperforming service centers. We …
Ahold has agreed to sell U.S. Foodservice to a consortium of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co for $7.1 billion.
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Anders Moberg, Ahold president & CEO, said: “I am extremely pleased to be able to announce that we have reached this important milestone for U.S. Foodservice, for Ahold and for our shareholders. We have focused on restructuring U.S. Foodservice, strengthening its capabilities and restoring profitability.”
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U.S. Foodservice had 2006 net sales of $19.2 billion. It is a full-service foodservice distributor, which distributes food and related products across the U.S. to more than 250,000 foodservice customers, including restaurants, hospitals, hotels, schools, the government …
