Grainger Earnings Fall 18% in Quarter

W.W. Grainger posted net earnings of to $92 million for the second quarter, an 18% decrease from $113 million in the prior year.

The direct marketer of maintenance supplies reported sales of $1.5 billion for the quarter ended June 30, a 13%decrease from $1.7 billion last year.

The Chicago-based firm reported that sales declined in all customer end markets except government, which was up slightly. Specifically: heavy manufacturing declined almost 30%; commercial declined about 9% and most other segments declined in the low to mid teens.

“We have not seen an indication of an economic turnaround at this point but our results indicate that we are gaining market share during this recession,” said CEO Jim Ryan, in a statement.