Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) stock fell 4.53% (As on Apr 14, 1:06:53 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company posted better than expected results for the first quarter of FY 22. It reported daily sales of $26.6 million, reflecting an increase of 18.4% year over year for the quarter. The upside was mainly due to higher unit sales of most products to traditional manufacturing and construction customers, stemming from an improvement in business activity. On a monthly basis, daily sales improved 19.1%, 21.3% and 14.9% in March, February and January, respectively, year over year. Daily sales of Fastener products (mainly used for industrial production and accounting for approximately 34.3% of first-quarter sales) rose 24.6% year over year, backed by higher manufacturing and construction demand as well as increased pricing. Sales of safety products grew 15.3% on a daily basis. The upside was mainly driven by solid growth and higher pricing for traditional manufacturing and construction clients. Sales of the remaining products grew 14.8% year over year. Cash and cash equivalents were $234.2 million as of Mar 31, 2021, slightly down from $236.2 million on Dec 31, 2021. Long-term debt at quarter-end was $330 million, same as 2021-end.

Moreover, Fastenal signed 106 new Onsite locations during the quarter. As of Mar 31, 2022, the company had 1,440 active sites, up 12.1% from the year-ago period. Daily sales through Onsite locations (excluding sales transferred from branches to new Onsites) increased more than 20% from a year ago. FAST continues to expect 375-400 annual Onsite signings in 2022.

FAST in the first quarter of FY 22 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of 47 cents, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of 44 cents. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 20.3 percent to $1.7 billion in the first quarter of FY 22, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $1.69 billion. Gross margin of 46.6% for the quarter improved 120 basis points or bps from the prior-year period. The improvement was driven by a higher product margin related to safety products and the absence of a write-down. The operating margin also improved 120 bps to 21% from the year-ago figure of 19.8%. For the first three months of 2022, cash provided by operating activities totaled $230 million compared with $274.8 million in the year-ago period.