Distributor

Metalworking and industrial supplies distributor BlackHawk Industrial, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, has acquired Machine Tools Supply.  More.

Herbert L. Flake Company, a portfolio company of Supply Chain Equity Partners, acquired International Key Supply, LLC, a leading distributor of security hardware supplies and tools with locations in Farmingdale, New York, and Portland, Oregon.  More.

Grainger, Chicago, reported 2019 sales of $11.5 billion, up 2.5% compared to 2018, and profit of $849 billion, up 8% compared with a year ago. The distributor’s fourth-quarter sales rose 3% to $2.8 billion, and profit was $103 million. More.

Amazon.com, Inc. reported sales net sales increased 20% to $280.5 billion, an increase of 22% compared with 2018. Net income increased to $11.6 billion compared with net income of $10.1 billion in 2018. The company reported that sales increased 21% to $87.4 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with $72.4 billion in fourth quarter 2018. Net income increased to $3.3 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with net income of $3 billion in fourth quarter 2018. More.

WESCO International Inc., Pittsburgh, reported sales for 2019 of $8.4 billion, up 2.2% from 2018. Profit rose from $223.4 million to $223.4 million. For the fourth quarter, sales were $2.1 billion, a year-over-year increase of 4%. Profit was $53.1 million, compared to $58.1 million a year ago. More.

Anixter International Inc., Glenview, Illinois, reported sales for 2019 of $8.8 billion, up 5% year-over-year. Profit was up 68% to $262.9 million. For the fourth quarter, sales were $2.3 billion, up 6% over the year-ago quarter. Profit was $101 million, up from $41.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. More.

Pentair plc, Manchester, UK, reported sales for 2019 of $3 billion, down slightly year-over-year. Profit was $355.7 million, up 2.4% over a year ago. Fourth quarter sales were $755.2 million, up 2% year-over-year. Profit was $97.8 million, up 5.3% over a year ago. More.

Textron, Providence, Rhode Island, reported total revenues of $13.6 billion for 2019, down 2.1% over 2018. Profit fell 33.3% to $815 million. The company reported sales of $4 billion for the fourth quarter of 2019, up 7.6% compared with the fourth quarter of 2018. Profit for the quarter fell 19.1% in 2018 to $199 million. More.

Foodservice distributor Sysco Corp., Houston, reported second-quarter sales of $15 billion, a 1.8% increase from the same quarter a year ago. Profit increased 43.4% to $383.4 million. For the first six months, Sysco reported sales of $30.3 billion, a 1.2% increase from the same period a year ago. Profit increased 19.9% to $837.2 million. More.

Sales for HARDI distributor members increased by 7.4% during December 2019, according to its monthly TRENDS report. The average annual sales growth for the 12 months through December 2019 is 5.3%.  More.

North American buying group AD, Wayne, Pennsylvania, reported sales across its 12 divisions were $46.3 billion, an increase of 12% from 2018. Purchases by member companies from AD supplier partners landed at $12.1 billion, up 9% from 2018.  More.

Pentair plc has announced that Mark Borin has informed the company of his intention to resign as executive vice president, CFO and chief accounting officer and that he has accepted an operational leadership opportunity at a private, employee-owned company. Pentair has commenced a search for the company’s next CFO, and Borin plans to remain in his role with Pentair through the search process and to assist with an orderly transition. More.

Members of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, during the association’s Executive Summit in Washington, DC, elected as chairman of the NAW Board of Directors, Douglas W. York, president and CEO of Ewing Irrigation & Landscape Supply, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.  More.

Winsupply Inc., Dayton, Ohio, has opened Quad Cities Winwater, serving waterworks and utilities contractors in the Quad Cities including eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois. More.

Economic

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced today that the goods and services deficit was $48.9 billion in December, up $5.2 billion from $43.7 billion in November, revised. December exports were $209.6 billion, $1.6 billion more than November exports. December imports were $258.5 billion, $6.8 billion more than November imports. More.

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in January, and the overall economy grew for the 129th consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business. More.

Manufacturer

AMETEK Inc., Paoli, Pennsylvania, a global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices, reported sales for 2019 of $5.2 billion, up 6% over 2018. Profit increased 10.8% to $861.3 billion. For the fourth quarter, the company reported sales of $1.3 billion, up 3% from the same period of 2018. Profit was $220.8 million. More.

3M, St. Paul, Minnesota, reported sales for 2019 of $32.1 billion, a year-over-year decrease of 1.9%. Organic local-currency sales decreased 1.5%. Profit for the diversified manufacturer decreased 14.6% to $4.6 billion. For the fourth quarter, sales rose 2.1% to $8.1 billion. Organic local-currency sales fell 2.6%. Profit decreased 28.1% to $969 million. More.

Kennametal Inc., Latrobe, Pennsylvania, reported sales for the second quarter ended Dec. 31 of $505.1 million, a decrease of 14% from the previous year. The company reported a loss of $5.9 million, compared to a profit of $54.7 million in the second quarter of 2018. Year-to-date, Kennametal reported sales of $1 billion, down 12.9% from the same period a year ago. Profit to date was $1.2 million, down from $114.7 million the first six months of fiscal 2018. More.

Rockwell Automation, Inc., Milwaukee, Wisconsin, reported sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2020 of $1.7 billion, up 2.6% from the same quarter a year ago. The company reported that organic sales were down 1%. Profit was $310.7 million, compared to $80.3 million the previous year's quarter. More.

Emerson, St. Louis, Missouri, reported first-quarter sales of $4.2 billion, up 0.1% compared with the year-ago period. The company reported net earnings of $329 million, compared to $467 million in the first quarter of 2019. More.

Swedish bearing manufacturer SKF reported sales for 2019 of SEK 86 billion (US$9 billion), up 0.4% from 2018. For the fourth quarter, sales were SEK 21.2 billion (US$2.2 billion), a 0.1% increase over the same period a year ago. Industrial sales grew 1.5% during 2019 and automotive sales fell 2.4%. More.

Crane Co., Stamford, Connecticut, reported 2019 sales of $3.3 billion, down 2% from 2018. Full year 2019 operating profit was $210 million, compared to $441 million in 2018. Fourth quarter 2019 sales were $838 million, a slight decline compared to the fourth quarter of 2018. Fourth quarter 2019 operating loss was $135 million, compared to operating profit of $110 million in the fourth quarter of 2018.  More.

Avery Dennison Corp., Glendale, California, reported sales 2019 or $7.1 billion, down 1.2% over 2018. Organic sales were up 2%. Profit was $303.6 million, down 35% over 2018. The company reported sales for the fourth quarter of $1.8 billion, up 0.2% from the prior-year period and 2.1% organically. Profit was $162.5 million, up 67.4%. More.

Ingersoll-Rand plc, Swords, Ireland, reported sales for 2019 of $16.6 billion, a 5.9% increase from the previous year. Profit increased 5.5% to $1.4 billion. Sales for the fourth quarter were $4.2 billion, a 6.5% increase over the same period a year ago. Profit was $296.1 million compared to $254 million in the previous fourth quarter. More.

Stanley Black & Decker, New Britain, Connecticut, has reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2018 financial results. The company reported 2019 full-year revenues of $14.4 billion, up 3% compared with 2018. Profit was reported at 955.8 million. Fourth-quarter sales were $3.7 billion, up 2% compared to the same period in 2018. Profit was $199.1 million, compare to a loss of $106.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. More.

Rexnord Corp., Milwaukee, reported sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2020 of $492 million, an increase of 1% year-over-year. Profit for the quarter was $48 million compared to $53 million the previous year's quarter. For the first nine months of the fiscal year sales were $1.5 billion, up 0.5% from the previous year. Profit for the period was $151.8 million, compared to a loss of $13 million the previous year. More.

Switzerland-based power and automation company ABB reported full year sales for 2019 of $28 billion, an increase of 1% from 2018. Profit decreased 34% to $1.4 billion. Fourth quarter sales were $7.1 billion, a decrease of 4% from the same period the previous year. Profit increased 3% to $325 million. More.

The Timken Co., Canton, Ohio, reported fourth-quarter sales of $896 million, down 1.5% compared with the year-ago period. Timken reported $117.8 million in profit for the quarter, compared to $60.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. More.

Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corp., Dublin, Ireland, reported 2019 sales were $21.4 billion, a decrease of 0.9% from the previous year. Profit increased 3.3% to $2.2 billion. Sales for the fourth quarter were $5.2 billion, an increase of 3.7% year-over-year. Profit fell 28.3% to $453 million. More.

Milwaukee Tool, Brookfield, Wisconsin, has announced plans for a new vertically integrated manufacturing plant in West Bend, Wisconsin. The facility will manufacture hand tools for professional electricians and utility linemen.  More.