Investing.com - Fastenal surged Thursday after the industrial company reported first-quarter earnings that topped expectations thanks to strong demand and higher pricing.
Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) posted earnings of $0.68 a share, a penny above consensus expectations compiled by Investing.com, while revenue of $1.31 billion was in line with estimates, sending its share up more than 4%. The shares are up about 30% this year.
The industrial company, best known as a major distributor of fasteners of all kinds, tools and related supplies, attributed the upbeat performance to growth drivers including industrial vending, construction and onsite locations, which are defined as dedicated sales from within, or close to, a customer's facility.
"Sales through our vending devices grew at a high-teens pace in the first quarter of 2019 over the first quarter of 2018 due primarily to the increase in the installed base," the company said.
The company signed 5,603 industrial vending devices during the first quarter, with the installed device count up 13% year on year to 83,410 by March 31.
The uptick in its vending machine fleet comes as Fastenal has been shifting its business model toward on-site locations to better integrate with its customers. The company signed 105 new onsite locations in the first quarter.
Sales of fastener products, meanwhile, grew about 12% on a daily basis year on year and accounted for 35% of sales in the overall first quarter. Non-fastener sales, meanwhile, were up 13% on a daily basis and made up 65% of sales.