CHICAGO, Oct. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Grainger (NYSE: GWW) today reported results for the 2016 third quarter ended September 30, 2016. Sales of $2.6 billion increased 3 percent versus $2.5 billion in the third quarter of 2015. There were 64 selling days in the 2016 third quarter, the same as the 2015 third quarter. Net earnings for the quarter of $186 million were down 3 percent versus $192 million in 2015. Earnings per share of $3.05 increased 4 percent versus $2.92 in 2015.

Third quarter results contained the following special items that the company believes are not indicative of ongoing operations and have been adjusted to provide better comparability with prior periods. Excluding the special items in both years noted below, net earnings decreased 6 percent and earnings per share increased 1 percent.

"We continue to operate in a challenging economic environment," said DG Macpherson, Chief Executive Officer. "The third quarter results were within our expectations. I'm pleased with our ability to continue to effectively manage costs in this low growth environment while still investing in our future success." Macpherson added, "During the quarter, we continued to see strong revenue and earnings growth in our single channel online businesses, and we started operations in our new 1.3 million square foot distribution center in New Jersey. We expect fourth quarter demand to remain challenged, and as a result, we have narrowed our guidance and lowered the midpoint for the full year. We remain committed to managing the company for long-term success with a focus on providing our customers an exceptional experience at every touch."

The company now expects 2016 sales growth of 1.5 to 2.5 percent and earnings per share of $11.40 to $11.70. The company's previous 2016 guidance, communicated on July 19, 2016, included sales growth of 1 to 4 percent and earnings per share of $11.20 to $12.20.

Company Sales increased 3 percent in the 2016 third quarter versus the prior year. The sales performance included a 2 percentage point contribution from Cromwell Group (Holdings) Limited, acquired on September 1, 2015, and a 1 percentage point contribution from foreign exchange. Excluding acquisitions and foreign exchange, organic sales were flat consisting of a 1 percentage point contribution from sales of seasonal products offset by a 1 percentage point reduction in price.

The company's gross profit margin declined 1.9 percentage points to 40.0 percent versus 41.9 percent in the 2015 third quarter, due primarily to unfavorable customer mix and price deflation exceeding product cost deflation. Operating expenses for the company declined 1 percent driven by lower payroll and benefits costs.

Company operating earnings of $323 million for the 2016 third quarter declined 5 percent versus $341 million in the 2015 quarter. The decline was driven by lower gross profit margins partially offset by lower operating expenses.

The company has two reportable business segments, the United States and Canada, which represented approximately 81 percent of company sales for the quarter. The remaining operating businesses are located in Europe, Asia and Latin America. The single channel online businesses are included in Other Businesses and are not reportable segments.

United StatesSales for the U.S. segment declined 1 percent versus the 2015 third quarter. The decline was driven by a 1 percentage point decrease in volume and a 1 percentage point decline in price, partially offset by a 1 percentage point contribution from increased sales to Zoro, the single channel online business in the United States. Government and Retail customers posted the strongest sales growth in the quarter for the segment.

Operating earnings for the U.S. segment declined 5 percent in the quarter driven by lower sales and lower gross profit margins, partially offset by lower operating expenses. Gross profit margins for the quarter declined 1.3 percentage points driven by unfavorable customer mix and price deflation outpacing cost deflation. Operating expenses for the segment were down 3 percent in the quarter versus the 2015 third quarter primarily due to lower payroll and benefits. Reported results included $5.4 million of net restructuring charges composed of $6.6 million of pretax charges, partially offset by $1.2 million of pretax gains, primarily from the sale of real estate.

CanadaThird quarter 2016 sales for Acklands-Grainger declined 16 percent in U.S. dollars and local currency, consisting of 15 percentage points from lower volume and a 1 percentage point decline in price. Daily sales in the province of Alberta, which currently represents about 30 percent of the company's business in Canada, were down 22 percent versus the prior year, while daily sales for all other provinces were down 12 percent in the quarter.

The Canadian segment posted a $15 million operating loss in the 2016 third quarter versus operating earnings of $4 million in the prior year, driven primarily by the sales decline and a lower gross profit margin, partially offset by lower operating expenses. The gross profit margin in Canada declined 5.5 percentage points versus the prior year, primarily due to product cost inflation exceeding price deflation, including U.S. sourced products, and higher freight costs. Operating expenses declined 5 percent in the quarter due to lower SAP project costs and payroll costs. Reported results included $4.4 million of pretax restructuring charges, composed of $3.8 million in operating expense-related charges and $0.6 million of inventory-related charges.

Other BusinessesSales for the Other Businesses increased 36 percent for the 2016 third quarter versus the prior year, consisting of 16 percentage points from Cromwell, 15 percentage points from volume and price and a 5 percentage point benefit from foreign exchange. Strong performance for the Other Businesses was driven by 38 percent sales growth for the single channel online businesses.

Operating earnings for the Other Businesses of $25 million in the 2016 third quarter were up 74 percent versus $14 million the prior year. This performance was driven by strong operating results from Zoro in the United States, MonotaRO in Japan and the business in Mexico. Cromwell's business also contributed to the earnings growth in the quarter.

Other Other income and expense was a net expense of $29 million in the 2016 third quarter versus a net expense of $21 million in the 2015 third quarter. This increase was primarily due to additional interest expense from the $400 million of debt issued in May 2016 used to buy back stock and higher losses from the company's clean energy investments.

For the quarter, the effective tax rate in 2016 was 34.0 percent versus 38.4 percent in 2015. The year-over-year decrease in the tax rate was primarily due to a higher benefit from the company's clean energy investments partially offset by a larger proportion of earnings from higher tax rate jurisdictions. The 2016 third quarter also included a $6 million benefit from the conclusion of the federal income tax audit for the years 2009 through 2012 and other discrete items. Excluding this discrete benefit, the company's effective tax rate was 36.1 percent.

Cash FlowOperating cash flow was $344 million in the 2016 third quarter versus $366 million in the 2015 third quarter. The company used the cash generated during the quarter and proceeds from the May 2016 debt offering to invest in the business and return cash to shareholders through share repurchase and dividends. Capital expenditures were $108 million in the 2016 third quarter versus $82 million in the third quarter of 2015. In the 2016 third quarter, Grainger returned $275 million to shareholders through $74 million in dividends and $201 million to buy back 887,000 shares of stock.

Year-to-DateFor the nine months ended September 30, 2016, sales of $7.7 billion increased 2 percent versus $7.5 billion in the nine months ended September 30, 2015. There were 192 selling days in the first nine months of 2016, one more than in 2015. Net earnings declined 13 percent to $545 million versus $624 million in the first nine months of 2015. Earnings per share for the nine months decreased 5 percent to $8.82 versus $9.24 in the first nine months of 2015.

Year-to-date results contained special items that the company believes are not indicative of ongoing operations and have been adjusted to provide better comparability with prior periods. Excluding the special items in both nine-month periods noted below, net earnings decreased 11 percent and earnings per share decreased 3 percent.

About GraingerW.W. Grainger, Inc., with 2015 sales of $10 billion, is North America's leading broad line supplier of maintenance, repair and operating products (MRO), with operations also in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Visit www.grainger.com/investor to view information about the company, including a history of sales by segment and a podcast regarding 2016 third quarter results. The Grainger website also includes more information through our Fact Book and Corporate Social Responsibility report.

Safe Harbor Statement

All statements in this communication, other than those relating to historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" based on our current view of the competitive market and the overall environment. Factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those statements include, among other risks and uncertainties, a major loss of customers or suppliers, competitive pressures, legal proceedings, changes in laws and regulations, general economic, industry or market conditions, technological or operational disruptions, natural and other catastrophes and other factors that can be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent Forms 10-K and 10-Q, which are available on our Investor Relations website. We disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, except as required by law.

*The GAAP financial statements are the source for all amounts used in the Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) calculation. ROIC is calculated using operating earnings divided by net working assets (a 4-point average for the year). Net working assets are working assets minus working liabilities defined as follows: working assets equal total assets less cash equivalents (4-point average of $95.2 million, deferred taxes, and investments in unconsolidated entities, plus the LIFO reserve (4-point average of $388.0 million). Working liabilities are the sum of trade payables, accrued compensation and benefits, accrued contributions to employees' profit sharing plans, and accrued expenses.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION - CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGSRECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (Unaudited)(In thousands of dollars)

The company supplemented the reporting of financial information determined under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) with certain non-GAAP financial measures, which the company refers to as "adjusted" measures, including adjusted operating earnings, adjusted segment operating earnings, adjusted net earnings and adjusted diluted earnings per share. Adjusted measures exclude items that may not be indicative of core operating results. The company believes that these non-GAAP measures provide meaningful information to assist shareholders in understanding financial results and assessing prospects for future performance. Management believes adjusted operating earnings, adjusted net earnings and adjusted diluted earnings per share are important indicators of operations because they exclude items that may not be indicative of our core operating results, and provide a better baseline for analyzing trends in our underlying businesses. Because non-GAAP financial measures are not standardized, it may not be possible to compare these financial measures with other companies' non-GAAP financial measures having the same or similar names. These adjusted financial measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for reported results. These non-GAAP financial measures reflect an additional way of viewing aspects of operations that, when viewed with GAAP results, provide a more complete understanding of the business. The company strongly encourages investors and shareholders to review company financial statements and publicly-filed reports in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure.

The reconciliations provided below reconcile the non-GAAP financial measures adjusted net earnings, adjusted diluted earnings per share, adjusted operating earnings and adjusted segment operating earnings with GAAP financial measures:

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SOURCE W.W. Grainger, Inc.