Interline Brands, Inc., Jacksonville, FL, a distributor and direct marketer of maintenance, repair and operations products, reported sales for the second quarter of 2008 were $311.4 million, a 0.6% decrease compared to the same period 2007. Profit decreased 6.7% to $11.2 million.
 
The facilities maintenance end-market, which comprised 70% of sales, grew 2.5% during the second quarter on an average daily sales basis. This growth was offset by continued weakness in the pro contractor and specialty distributor end-markets, which declined 8.7% in the quarter. The specialty distributor end-market, which comprised 11% of sales, declined 4.5% for the quarter.
 
Sales for the six months ended June 27, 2008 were $600.6 million, a 1.3% decrease over the comparable 2007 period. Profit was $19.8 million, a decrease of 7.3% from a year ago.
 
Michael Grebe, Interline’s CEO, said: We are prudently addressing our cost position in the near term to ensure we weather the current economic environment while we build a leaner, more efficient platform from which sustainable value can be created over the long term.
 
“While we have discussed many of these initiatives over the past year, we are stepping out this quarter with a more detailed roadmap. We are announcing plans that should allow us to reduce our annual operating costs by $20 million, and reduce working capital by $20 million over the next several years.”