Port Washington, New York-based Global Industrial Company reported its 2023 second quarter financial results on Aug. 1, showing a modest increase in year-over-year sales that were largely powered by a recent acquisition while margins narrowed.

The company posted total 2Q sales of $326 million, up 2.3% year-over-year. The company noted that, excluding its $69 million acquisition of office supplies distributor Indoff — completed May 19 — 2Q sales were down 5.2% year-over-year. In 1Q, sales were down 5.1% year-over-year.

Global’s 2Q gross margin fell 80 basis points year-over-year to 34.7%. Excluding Indoff, gross margin was 35.7% and a 20 bps improvement. The company’s 1Q gross margin was 35.9%.

Global’s 2Q operating profit of $29 million decreased 4.6% year-over-year and topped 1Q’s $18 million, while 2Q operating margin of 8.9% fell 70 bps year-over-year.

The company’s 2Q net profit of $21.5 million dipped 5.7% year-over-year.

Global Industrial was No. 26 on MDM’s 2023 Top Industrial Distributors List, and No. 12 for MRO Distributors.

“We had a very productive second quarter as we continued to execute on our ACE strategy, made further investments in growth initiatives and completed the strategic acquisition of Indoff in late May,” Global Industrial CEO Barry Litwin said in the company’s 2Q earnings release. “Total revenue benefited from the inclusion of Indoff, while organic performance reflects price deflation, and a continuation of the cautious purchasing behavior within our small and medium business customer base’s manufacturing sector. Gross margin remained solid as we delivered modest improvement organically, offset by Indoff’s lower margin profile.”

Litwin added that improvements in Global’s online shopping experience led to expanded eCommerce growth throughout the quarter, while the company saw healthy customer acquisition and retention and ended the quarter with modest volume trend improvement.

Litwin is one of the featured speakers at MDM’s upcoming SHIFT Conference, held Sept. 18-20 in downtown Denver.