Maintenance, repair, and operations supplier MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE: MSM) suffered a 40% decline in fiscal third-quarter income and a 13% drop in net sales. For the three months ended March 2, MSC posted income of $8.7 million on sales of $194.8 million. Twelve months prior, it reported net income of $14.4 million on sales of $223.1 million.
On the positive side, Melville, NY-based MSC said that orders were up from the previous quarter, improved during the quarter, resulting in the first sequential rise in revenue and net income after three quarters of decline.