Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) has reported first-quarter earnings that beat expectations as it benefited from strong underlying demand in markets tied to industrial capital goods and commodities.
The Winona, Minnesota-based wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies said this more than offset a modest contraction for construction supplies during the three months ended March 31, 2022.
Sales were dented by foreign exchange movements and adverse weather in February, while it benefitted from product pricing.
“Spot prices in the marketplace for many inputs remained below prior-year levels, though in many cases they were at or above levels experienced in the fourth quarter of 2022," the company said in a statement.
"The combination of good demand, more stable cost trends, and our long supply chain for imported fasteners and certain non-fastener products produced stable price levels for our products."
For the quarter, the company reported sales of $1.86 billion, up 9.1% from 1Q 2022, while gross profit increased by 7.2% to $850 million. Net earnings came in 9.5% higher at $295 million resulting in diluted earnings per share of $0.52, up 10.4%, and ahead of the $0.50 pencilled in by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
Fastenal’s shares declined 4.2% to $51 in opening trade on Thursday.
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