MSC Industrial Supply Co. capped its fiscal 2025 with a small fourth-quarter gain but a weaker full-year performance, reflecting a year of uneven demand and ongoing cost pressures across the industrial and manufacturing sectors.
The distributor of metalworking and MRO supplies reported fourth-quarter sales of $978.2 million, a 2.7% increase from $952.3 million a year earlier. Net income rose 1.4% to $56.5 million. Operating income fell 7.3% to $84.3 million.
For the full fiscal year, MSC reported net sales of $3.77 billion, a 1.3% decline from fiscal 2024’s $3.82 billion. Net income dropped 22.9% to $199.3 million. Operating income declined 22.8% to $301.6 million.
CEO Erik Gershwind said the company’s improvement in the fourth quarter demonstrates early success in its “mission critical” strategy.
“Our fourth-quarter results are evidence of the progress we are making through our Mission Critical strategy,” Gershwind said. “We returned to daily sales growth in the quarter for both our core customer segment and the total company.”
Interim chief financial officer Greg Clark said both sales and profitability came in ahead of expectations.
“We finished the year on a positive note with average daily sales improving 2.7% compared to the prior year and adjusted operating margin of 9.2%, both of which exceeded our outlook,” Clark said.
President and chief operating officer Martina McIsaac said MSC enters the new fiscal year with stronger momentum.
“Momentum is building, and I’m confident in our ability to deliver profitable growth next year,” McIsaac said. “Our goal remains simple — to outperform the Industrial Production Index by 400 basis points or more and expand margins into the mid-teens.”
For the first quarter of fiscal 2026, MSC expects average daily sales growth of 3.5% to 4.5% For the full year, the company anticipates capital expenditures of $100 million to $110 million and free cash flow conversion of about 90%.
MSC distributes more than 2.5 million metalworking and maintenance products across North America and employs about 7,000 people.
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