With $2.1 billion in Q4/11 sales (up 14% over Q4/10),
Grainger finished 2011 with $8.1 billion—up 12% from one year earlier. By
month, Grainger’s U.S. sales rose 9% in each of October and November, and 5% in
December, compared to year-earlier numbers for the same months.
For this year, the company’s forecast is a sales gain of 10%
to 14%. On the high end, Grainger’s 2012 sales would be more than $9.2 billion.
More impressive, perhaps, was the company’s simple statement
of numbers for the past year. The company said, “In 2011, Grainger introduced
more than 80,000 new products, transacted more than $2 billion in sales through
eCommerce and added more than 1,300 net new jobs, while delivering a total
shareholder return of 38 percent.”
Additionally, the company paid out $181 million to
shareholders last year in the form of dividends; it expended $151 million to
buy back its own stock on the open market (roughly 1 million shares).
Also revealed in the company’s quarterly public disclosures:
- 27 U.S. branches closed in Q4, one opened. That brings the total to
368. A check of the company’s 2007 10-K (annual report) filing with the SEC
showed 434 branches in the 50 states.
- Grainger has hired and is hiring more sales reps. The company
said it was now hiring its “6th wave of Territory Sales Representatives or
TSRs, and now have more than 500 of these new sales representatives calling on
customers across the United States.”
.jpg "120126_grainger")
Above: Graphic on the company’s expansion
of “territory sales reps” from a Nov. 15, 2011 analyst meeting presentation
from Grainger executives.
- Sales notes:
- U.S. segment sales made up 77% of the company’s 2011 total.
- A breakdown of Q4 sales, as provided in a transcript of the
company’s broadcast-only Q4 analyst conference call, revealed, “Heavy
Manufacturing was up in the low double digits. Commercial and Retail were up in
the high single digits. Light Manufacturing and Government were up in the mid
single digits. Contractor was down in the low single digits…”
- January 2012, in a glimpse: “With five selling days left in the
month, daily sales growth in January is trending above December and slightly
above the high-end of our 10% to 14% range for the full year.”
One final note, not necessarily made by Grainger in its
release or podcast—the company’s (not-yet-audited) gross margin for 2011 came
in at 43.5%, up from 2010’s 41.8%.
Perhaps more stunning are the raw numbers. Grainger
increased sales by $896 million over 2010, while at the same time posting a
gain of $505 million in gross profit.
A podcast, news release and presentation of Grainger’s
earnings is available on the company’s
website.
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