Fastenal Co (FAST) has reported 2.59 percent rise in profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2016. The company has earned $114.80 million, or $0.40 a share in the quarter, compared with $111.90 million, or $0.39 a share for the same period last year.
Revenue during the quarter went up marginally by 2.73 percent to $947.95 million from $922.79 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter contracted 13 basis points over the previous year period to 49.78 percent. Total expenses were 80.75 percent of quarterly revenues, up from 80.59 percent for the same period last year. That has resulted in a contraction of 16 basis points in operating margin to 19.25 percent.
Operating income for the quarter was $182.49 million, compared with $179.14 million in the previous year period.
Operating cash flow declinesFastenal Company has generated cash of $514 million from operating activities during the year, down 6.02 percent or $32.94 million, when compared with the last year. The company has spent $188.09 million cash to meet investing activities during the year as against cash outgo of $180.63 million in the last year. It has incurred net capital expenditure of $182.95 million on net basis during the year, up 25.97 percent or $37.72 million from year ago.
The company has spent $340.87 million cash to carry out financing activities during the year as against cash outgo of $337.56 million in the last year period.
Cash and cash equivalents stood at $112.74 million as on Dec. 31, 2016, down 12.62 percent or $16.28 million from $129.02 million on Dec. 31, 2015.
Working capital increases
Fastenal Company has recorded an increase in the working capital over the last year. It stood at $1,445.13 million as at Dec. 31, 2016, up 11.89 percent or $153.52 million from $1,291.61 million on Dec. 31, 2015. Current ratio was at 6.24 as on Dec. 31, 2016, up from 4.46 on Dec. 31, 2015.
Debt moves upFastenal Co has witnessed an increase in total debt over the last one year. It stood at $390 million as on Dec. 31, 2016, up 6.85 percent or $25 million from $365 million on Dec. 31, 2015. Total debt was 14.61 percent of total assets as on Dec. 31, 2016, compared with 14.41 percent on Dec. 31, 2015. Debt to equity ratio was almost stable at 0.20 as on Dec. 31, 2016, when compared with the last year. Interest coverage ratio deteriorated to 101.27 for the quarter from 177.19 for the same period last year. Disclaimer: Please note that this is an auto-generated article. IRIS does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information. IRIS especially states that it has no financial liability whatsoever to any user on account of the use of information provided on its website. For queries contact: editor@irisindia.net
