MELVILLE, N.Y. and DAVIDSON, N.C., Dec. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

FISCAL 2022 Q1 HIGHLIGHTS

• Net sales of $848.5 million, an increase of 9.9% YoY
• Average daily sales growth of nearly 500 basis points above Industrial Production Index
• Operating income of $90.7 million, or $96.0 million excluding restructuring and other charges¹
• Operating margin of 10.7%, or 11.3% excluding restructuring and other charges¹
• Diluted EPS of $1.18 vs. $0.69 in the prior fiscal year quarter
• Adjusted diluted EPS of $1.25 vs. $1.11 in the prior fiscal year quarter, a 12.6% increase¹

MSC INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY CO. (NYSE: MSM), "MSC" or the "Company," a leading North American distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services, today reported financial results for its fiscal 2022 first quarter ended November 27, 2021.

Erik Gershwind, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Our fiscal first quarter was a strong start to the year. Average daily sales grew 9.9% as we sustained our market share capture rate by outgrowing the Industrial Production Index by nearly 500 basis points. We translated that top line growth into double digit earnings growth and strong operating expense leverage. Gross margins, on the other hand, came in below our expectations. We implemented countermeasures quickly and saw improvement towards the end of the quarter and into December. We expect gross margins to bounce back in our fiscal second quarter and we expect to achieve our goal of keeping gross margins roughly flat for the full year."

Kristen Actis-Grande, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, added, "We produced double-digit earnings growth in the first quarter due to strong top line performance and excellent cost controls. Adjusted operating expenses as a percentage of sales dropped 70 basis points year over year fueled by productivity improvements. Our Mission Critical initiatives achieved savings of $10 million and we reinvested $7 million in the quarter. Momentum is building in our business and, as of now, we are trending towards the higher end of our annual operating margin framework. We also see low double-digit ADS growth as a possibility for fiscal 2022. If this happens, operating margins would lift beyond the ranges in our annual operating margin framework."

Gershwind concluded, "I am encouraged by the recent progress I see in the Company. Looking beyond this fiscal year, we are on track to achieve our goals of growing sales by at least 400 basis points above the Industrial Production Index and returning ROIC to the high-teens by the end of fiscal 2023."

Conference Call Information
MSC will host a conference call today at 8:30 a.m. EST to review the Company's fiscal 2022 first quarter results. The call, accompanying slides, and other operational statistics may be accessed at: http://investor.mscdirect.com. The conference call may also be accessed at 1-877-443-5575 (U.S.), 1-855-669-9657 (Canada) or 1-412-902-6618 (international).

An online archive of the broadcast will be available until January 5, 2022.

The Company's reporting date for fiscal 2022 second quarter results is scheduled for March 30, 2022. 

About MSC Industrial Supply Co. 
MSC Industrial Supply Co. (NYSE: MSM) is a leading North American distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services. We help our customers drive greater productivity, profitability and growth with approximately 2.0 million products, inventory management and other supply chain solutions, and deep expertise from over 80 years of working with customers across industries. Our experienced team of more than 6,500 associates is dedicated to working side by side with our customers to help drive results for their businesses - from keeping operations running efficiently today to continuously rethinking, retooling, and optimizing for a more productive tomorrow. For more information on MSC Industrial, please visit mscdirect.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: 
Statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that we expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future, including statements about the future impact of COVID-19 on our business operations, results of operations and financial condition, expected future results, expected benefits from our investment and strategic plans and other initiatives, and expected future growth, profitability and return on invested capital, are forward-looking statements. The words "will," "may," "believes," "anticipates," "thinks," "expects," "estimates," "plans," "intends," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The inclusion of any statement in this press release does not constitute an admission by MSC or any other person that the events or circumstances described in such statement are material. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include the following, many of which are and will be amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our sales, operations and supply chain; general economic conditions in the markets in which we operate, including conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; changing customer and product mixes; competition, including the adoption by competitors of aggressive pricing strategies and sales methods; industry consolidation and other changes in the industrial distribution sector; our ability to realize the expected benefits from our investment and strategic plans, including our transition from being a spot-buy supplier to a mission-critical partner to our customers; our ability to realize the expected cost savings and benefits from our restructuring activities and structural cost reductions; the retention of key personnel; volatility in commodity and energy prices; the credit risk of our customers, including changes in credit risk as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; the risk of customer cancellation or rescheduling of orders; difficulties in calibrating customer demand for our products, in particular personal protective equipment or "PPE" products, which could cause an inability to sell excess products ordered from manufacturers resulting in inventory write-downs or could conversely cause inventory shortages of such products; work stoppages, labor shortages or other business interruptions (including those due to extreme weather conditions or as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic) at transportation centers, shipping ports, our headquarters or our customer fulfillment centers; disruptions or breaches of our information technology systems, or violations of data privacy laws; the retention of qualified sales and customer service personnel and metalworking specialists; the risk of loss of key suppliers or contractors or key brands or supply chain disruptions, including due to import restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; changes to governmental trade policies, including the impact from significant import restrictions or tariffs; risks related to opening or expanding our customer fulfillment centers; our ability to estimate the cost of healthcare claims incurred under our self-insurance plan; litigation risk due to the nature of our business; risks associated with the integration of acquired businesses or other strategic transactions; financial restrictions on outstanding borrowings; our ability to maintain our credit facilities; the interest rate uncertainty due to the London InterBank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") reform; the failure to comply with applicable environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including government action in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and other laws applicable to our business; the outcome of government or regulatory proceedings or future litigation; goodwill and intangible assets recorded resulting from our acquisitions could be impaired; our common stock price may be volatile due to factors outside of our control; and our principal shareholders exercise significant control over us, which may result in our taking actions or failing to take actions which our other shareholders do not prefer. Additional information concerning these and other risks is described under "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual and Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, respectively, and in the other reports and documents that we file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable law.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

• Results Excluding Impairment Loss (prior year), Restructuring Costs, Legal Costs, and Other Related Costs and Tax Effects

To supplement MSC's unaudited selected financial data presented consistent with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP"), the Company discloses certain non-GAAP financial measures, including non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP operating expenses, non-GAAP income from operations, non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP provision for income taxes, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share, that exclude impairment loss (prior year), restructuring costs, legal costs for impairment of prepaid PPE during fiscal year 2021, and other related costs and tax effects.

These non-GAAP financial measures are not presented in accordance with GAAP or an alternative for GAAP financial measures and may be different from similar non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures and should only be used to evaluate MSC's results of operations in conjunction with the corresponding GAAP financial measures.

In calculating non-GAAP financial measures, we exclude impairment loss (prior year), restructuring costs, legal costs for impairment of prepaid PPE during fiscal year 2021, and other related costs and tax effects. Management makes these adjustments to facilitate a review of the Company's operating performance on a comparable basis between periods, for comparison with forecasts and strategic plans, for identifying and analyzing trends in the Company's underlying business and for benchmarking performance externally against competitors. We believe that investors benefit from seeing results from the perspective of management in addition to seeing results presented in accordance with GAAP for the same reasons and purposes for which management uses such non-GAAP financial measures.

SOURCE MSC Industrial Supply Co.