Net sales increased 10% from
Net earnings rose 9.9% from
Diluted net earnings per share rose 9.7% from
The growth was slightly limited by slower growth or contraction in sales of certain products to certain end markets related to the COVID-19 pandemic when compared to the third quarter of 2020.
While the quarter witnessed an uptick in sales of certain COVID-related supplies relative to the prior year, the marketplace is more orderly and better supplied, and the unit price of many products is down significantly. As a result, the impact on net sales of the current increase in infections and hospitalizations is significantly reduced from what was experienced in the year earlier period.
For instance, daily sales to government and warehousing customers declined 40.5% and 13.6%, respectively, while sales of safety products and janitorial supplies declined 2.9% and 15.4%, respectively, in the third quarter of 2021.
Fastener daily sales grew 20.2% over the third quarter of 2020, and represented 33.4% of net sales in the third quarter of 2021.
Safety product daily sales declined 2.9% from the third quarter of 2020 and represented 21.1% of net sales in the third quarter of 2021. The decline from the third quarter of 2020 reflected the absence of surge-related PPE sales, only partly offset by improvements in manufacturing and construction demand.
Other products daily sales grew 9.2% over the third quarter of 2020 and represented 45.5% of net sales in the third quarter of 2021. Improvement from 2020 reflected higher manufacturing and construction demand, only partly offset by the absence of surge-related sanitation sales.
The
Shares traded at
For the nine-month period, net sales rose 4.4% from
Net earnings for the nine-month period rose 4.7% from
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