Industrial distributor MSC Industrial Supply Co. (NYSE: MSM), Melville, New York, reported sales of $774 million for its fiscal second quarter, a 1.5% decrease compared to the year-ago period. Quarterly profit was $18.1 million, a 67.4z% decrease compared with the second quarter last year.

For the first six months the company reported sales of $1.5 billion, down 4% over the same period in 2020. Profit fell 53.2% to $56.5 million.

“Our fiscal second quarter reflected solid execution in a choppy, but improving environment,” said Erik Gershwind, president and CEO at MSC. “Improvement in sales levels of our non-safety and non-janitorial product lines continued through the quarter and turned positive in March. Sales of our safety and janitorial products grew in the mid-teens. Execution of our Mission Critical initiatives was solid, and I am pleased with the progress that we are making with our share capture programs.”