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Breaking news in Wholesale Distribution
UK-based Wolseley plc, global distributor of plumbing and heating products to professional contractors and supplier of building materials, reported it continues to be affected by the slowdown in housing and lower lumber prices in the U.S.
For the first five months to Dec. 31, 2006, Wolseley sales increased 15%, with 3% organic growth. Profit was slightly lower. In constant currency, revenue and trading profit would be about 5% higher. Results for the first six months will be reported in mid-March.
Wolseley says the housing slowdown effect was offset by good organic growth in the U.S. plumbing and heating business (Ferguson), an improved performance in continental Europe and contributions from acquisitions.
In the U.S., new housing starts have …
The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported this weekend that Home Depot board members are expected to visit this week with investor Ralph Whitworth, head of Relational Investors, which owns 1.3% of HD stock. Whitworth has been critical of HD’s strategy recently and says that big changes are necessary to boost the stock price post-Nardelli. Bob Nardelli recently resigned his post as CEO.
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Whitworth has been critical of HD’s supply business, telling CNBC’s Closing Bell in January: What we believe is that management should be focused like laser beams on the core business, improving the customer experience, …
Housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,642,000. This is 4.5 percent (±8.8%) …
Jackson, MS-based Stuart C. Irby Co., a subsidiary of Sonepar USA, has acquired Burmeister Electric Company, Minneapolis, MN, and High Voltage Testing Laboratories, Fargo, ND.
Burmeister was established in 1919 to serve utility companies in the Upper Midwest.
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Burmeister is a full-line stocking distributor and manufacturers’ agent offering products to the electric utilities for transmission and distribution requirements.=
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HVTL is a fully certified testing laboratory offering high voltage testing services and sales of PPE (personal protective equipment) safety products, used by electric utility lineman and field service personnel in the contractor and industrial markets.
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Burmeister will continue to …
The Fastenal Company, Winona, MN, reported sales for the year ended Dec. 31, 2006, were $1.8 billion, an increased of 18.8% over 2005. Profit increased 19.3% to $199,038.
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Sales for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2006, were $448,729, an increase of 16.8% over the same period last year. Profit increased 16.4% to $45,570.
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In 2006, Fastenal opened 245 new sites, representing an increase in stores of 14%. Fastenal operated 2,000 sites on Dec. 31. Employees grew to 7,174, up 12.2% from 2005.
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Details here.
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Fastenal 3Q Sales Up 16.9% …
Industrial production rose 0.4% in December after a decrease of 0.1% in November. Output in November was previously estimated to have advanced; weaker data for a number of industries, particularly steel, led to the downward revision.
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For the fourth quarter as a whole, industrial production decreased 0.5% (annual rate). In the manufacturing sector, output increased 0.7% in December, and most major industry groups registered gains.
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The output of utilities fell 2.6%, the result of relatively mild temperatures during the month, while the output of mines moved up 0.8%.
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Over the 12 months ending in December, total industrial production increased 3.0%, to a level that was 112.4% of its 2002 average, and total …
Rexel reported sales for fiscal 2006 at 9.3 billion euro, or $12.1 billion, up 26% from 2005, and up 11.1% on a comparable basis (same scope of consolidation, exchange rates and business days).
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In North America, Rexel sales reached $5.2 billion, up 12.2% on a comparable basis from last year. Sales for the fourth quarter were $1.62 billion, up 4% from the same period a year ago on a comparable basis.
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Sales in Europe reached $5.9 billion for the year. Operations there posted double-digit growth.
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Overall, sales for Rexel in the fourth quarter were $3.5 billion.
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CEO Jean-Charles Pauze said that the performance, in part, reflects increases in …
ElkCorp, Dallas, TX, manufacturer of roofing and building products, has received another offer to purchase all of ElkCorp’s outstanding shares for $42 a share by an affiliate of Building Materials Corporation of America.
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The special committee and board of directors, consistent with its recently announced merger agreement with The Carlyle Group, will review the offer and make a recommendation to ElkCorp’s shareholders.
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On January 16, 2007, ElkCorp announced that it has entered into an amended merger agreement with Carlyle, under which Carlyle commenced an offer to acquire all of ElkCorp’s outstanding shares for $40.50 per share. The revised Carlyle tender offer represents a $2.50 increase over the $38.00 price per share provided in the …
SKF has acquired the Preventive Maintenance Company Inc., Elk Grove Village, IL. PMCI has 70 employees with annual sales of about $10 million.
PMCI is in Predictive Maintenance services for industrial customers in the pulp and paper, metals, food, automotive and other industries. The PMCI acquisition strengthens SKF in reliability services, condition monitoring products and maintenance strategies.
The integration of PMCI into the SKF Group has just started.
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SKF Group Sales Grow 8.3% in First Half
SKF to Buy Austrian Industrial Seals Co.
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Applied Industrial Technologies, Cleveland, OH, reported sales increased 4% in the second quarter 2007 to $472.36 million. Profit grew 21% to $18.5 million.
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For the six months ended Dec. 31, 2006, sales increased 7% to $964.9 million from $899.3 million in the same period last year. Profit was up 23% to $39.7 million.
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Applied CEO David Pugh said: Although our sales growth was softer than we expected, we believe the economic outlook suggests continued growth through our fiscal year.  ; We are actively managing our business and are working to keep costs in line with the slower pace of the economy. Based on the current state of the industrial economy, and with six months of results under our belt, we now expect our year-end sales to …
