The plumbing and industrial supply distributor expects "low single digit growth" in the new fiscal year.
Ferguson posted a slight decrease in sales in its recently completed fiscal year, but it saw a slight increase in its latest quarter and anticipates similar growth in the new year, company officials said.
The Virginia-based plumbing and industrial supply giant on Tuesday reported $29.6 billion in sales in the 12 months ending July 31, a decline of 0.3% compared to the previous 12-month window. The company's operating profit slipped by the same percentage, and although its gross margin was up by 10 basis points year-over-year, its operating margin was flat. Diluted earnings per share were off by 6.5% for the year.
Ferguson officials said the company's full year finished "in line" with internal expectations, and highlighted growth in the final quarter.
"Despite market headwinds and deflation during the year, we continued to outperform our markets, returned to volume growth, expanded gross margins and delivered solid operating margin performance," said Ferguson CEO Kevin Murphy.
Ferguson reported a nearly 22% decline in fourth-quarter diluted earnings per share due to one-time tax charges stemming from a corporate restructuring, but other numbers were up in the quarter. Net sales rose by 1.4% to $7.9 billion, while operating profit climbed 3.7% to $811 million. Gross margin and operating margin rose by 40 basis points and 20 basis points, respectively.
The company's initial guidance for the 2025 fiscal year projects net sales growth in the "low single" digits, along with an adjusted operating margin of between 9% and 9.5%.
"While we anticipate an ongoing challenging near term market environment, we will continue to invest in scale and capabilities to take advantage of multi-year structural tailwinds," Murphy said.
The company said it spent a total of $260 million to acquire 10 companies during the year, including the completion of four acquisitions in Q4 alone. In total, new acquisitions generated some $400 million in annualized revenue and bolstered full-year sales by 1.8%, helping mostly offset a 2.4% drop in organic revenue.