W.W. Grainger's 3Q profit edges up

W.W. Grainger's 3rd-qtr profit rises 3 percent, beats Wall Street's expectation

• On 2:48 pm EDT, Wednesday October 14, 2009

CHICAGO (AP) -- W.W. Grainger Inc., a facilities maintenance provider, said Wednesday its third-quarter profit rose 3 percent as stronger pricing and cost cutting offset weaker volume.

CEO James T. Ryan said daily sales remain stable and the company expects comparisons to improve as sales fell in the fourth quarter a year ago.

But he added "we are not yet seeing a catalyst for a sustained economic turnaround in any of our major end markets."

Its shares fell $1.51, or 1.6 percent, to $92.80 in afternoon trading.

Net income climbed to $141.2 million, or $1.88 per share, in the three months ended Sept. 30 compared with $136.9 million, or $1.77 per share, in the year-earlier period.

Excluding a one-time gain of 37 cents, the company $1.51 per share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected, on average, earnings per share of $1.34. Such expectations typically exclude unusual items.

Sales fell 14 percent to $1.59 billion from $1.84 billion. Analysts expected revenue of $1.6 billion.

Warehousing, marketing and administrative expenses declined 7.4 percent to $473.2 million from $510.9 million.