CHICAGO — Lawson Products, Inc. (“Lawson” or the “Company”) today announced results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021.
“Lawson generated solid operating results both sequentially and over the prior year despite the lingering effects of the pandemic, including disruption by the Delta variant, and pressure from wide-spread global supply chain disruptions. During the quarter, sales grew nearly 17% over the prior year quarter to $106 million benefiting from our 2020 acquisition of Partsmaster as well as strong sales in our Lawson MRO and The Bolt Supply House businesses. We continue to strengthen our financial position to support future growth,” said Mike DeCata, president and chief executive officer.
“I’m pleased with our positive trends in 2021 which continued in the third quarter. With the integration of Partsmaster largely behind us, we are now well-positioned to begin realizing the benefits of our integrated sales organization including cross selling products and a larger sales force with greater market coverage. The nearly 70-year history of Lawson Products has been built on strong customer relationships. We have a long history of providing the services, products and expertise to help our customers be more productive. Our well-established service-intensive vendor managed inventory business places us in a great position, especially given the current labor shortages in many industries.”
“During the quarter, we faced similar global supply chain issues, labor shortages and inflation that impacted many businesses. We are aggressively managing through this environment and have taken actions to improve product sourcing, pricing and labor allocation to protect our margins. As a result, our adjusted EBITDA this quarter is higher than the immediately preceding two quarters. With our strong balance sheet and margin performance, we expect to continue to achieve organic growth and make acquisitions that will leverage these strengths,” concluded Mr. DeCata.
Highlights
- Third quarter sales of $105.6 million compared to $90.3 million in the prior year quarter.
- Operating income was $4.6 million in the third quarter of 2021 compared to $3.4 million in the second quarter of 2021 and $2.0 million in the third quarter of 2020. Adjusted operating income was $7.3 million in the third quarter of 2021 compared to $6.8 million in the second quarter of 2021 and $7.7 million reported in the year ago quarter.
- Net income of $3.7 million for the quarter, or $0.39 per diluted share compared to $0.19 in the prior year quarter. On an adjusted basis, diluted earnings per share was $0.64 compared to $0.60 in the second quarter of 2021 and $0.62 in the year ago quarter.
- Ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $7.5 million and $87.4 million of availability under our credit facility.
Third Quarter Results
Net sales in the third quarter of 2021 were $105.6 million, an increase of 16.9% compared to $90.3 million in sales in the third quarter 2020. This growth was achieved by our legacy business and the 2020 acquisition of Partsmaster. Excluding Partsmaster, sales improved by $7.1 million or 8.4% over the third quarter of 2020 driven by both improved business conditions and price actions within the Lawson MRO and The Bolt Supply House businesses. The remaining sales increase was attributable to Partsmaster which contributed sales of $13.6 million in the third quarter of 2021 compared to $5.4 million in the one-month post-acquisition period of the third quarter of 2020. As compared to the second quarter of 2021, Lawson MRO and Bolt Supply business grew while Partsmaster sales declined primarily due to weakness in the federal government business.
Gross profit increased to $56.0 million in the third quarter of 2021 compared to $47.2 million in the year ago quarter primarily driven by top line revenue growth. Gross margin improved to 53.1% for the third quarter of 2021 compared to 52.3% in the year ago quarter and 51.3% in the second quarter. Despite supply chain challenges affecting the broader economy, the organic Lawson MRO gross margin was 58.7%, essentially flat with the 58.8% reported in the third quarter of 2020 and improved compared to 57.2% in the second quarter of 2021 (before the classification of certain service-related costs in gross profit) driven primarily by the pricing, product sourcing and labor actions taken to offset inflationary pressures.
Selling expenses were $24.9 million in the third quarter of 2021 compared to $19.2 million in the prior year quarter. The increased selling expense was primarily driven by the inclusion of $5.6 million of Partsmaster selling expenses compared to $1.7 million of Partsmaster selling expenses in the one-month post-acquisition period a year ago quarter and sales activities returning to a more normalized level. As a percentage of sales, selling expenses were 23.6% compared to 21.2% in the prior year quarter driven by higher selling expenses within Partsmaster and as sales activities returning to a more normalized level.
General and administrative expenses were $26.5 million in the third quarter of 2021 compared to $26.1 million in the prior year quarter. The increase compared to the prior year quarter was driven by the inclusion of Partsmaster general and administrative expenses of $3.5 million compared to $1.5 million in the one-month post-acquisition period of the third quarter 2020 and restoring operating expenses on normalized sales volumes offset by a decrease in stock-based compensation of $5.9 million. Costs related to potential acquisitions of $3.2 million related primarily to the transaction proposed by Luther King Capital Management as described in a Schedule 13D amendment filed by LKCM on May 17, 2021 are also included in general and administrative expenses for the quarter.
Reported operating income in the third quarter of 2021 was $4.6 million compared to $3.4 million in the second quarter of 2021 and $2.0 million in the third quarter of 2020. Adjusted operating income was $7.3 million for the quarter compared to $6.8 million in the second quarter 2021 and $7.7 million in the year ago quarter. (See reconciliation in Table 1) For the third quarter of 2021, adjusted EBITDA was $9.4 million, 8.9% of sales, compared to $9.3 million, 10.4% of sales, for the prior year quarter. (See reconciliation in Table 1)
Reported net income was $3.7 million, or $0.39 per diluted share compared to net income of $1.7 million, or $0.19 per diluted share for the year ago quarter. Adjusted net income was $6.0 million or $0.64 per diluted share compared to $5.8 million or $0.62 per diluted share a year ago. (See reconciliation in Table 2) On a year-to-date basis, adjusted net income has improved to $17.0 million or $1.81 per diluted share compared to $14.4 million or $1.55 per diluted share a year ago. (See reconciliation in Table 2)
On September 30, 2021, the Company ended the quarter with borrowings, net of cash and cash equivalents, of $3.4 million and $87.4 million of availability under its $100.0 million committed credit facility.
