New Britain toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker posted a 77% increase in third-quarter profits despite a global pandemic and economic downturn.
Calling the three-month period ending in October “one of the best quarters” in Stanley’s history, Â CEO Jim Loree said in a Tuesday morning earnings call that higher sales in the company’s tools division and cost-savings measures drove success in 2020’s penultimate quarter.
“No one could have anticipated [2020’s] ups and downs and twists and turns,” said Loree, who added that home-bound people engaging in home improvement projects delivered an unexpected spike in sales at home stores and over Stanley’s e-commerce platform. “People stuck in their homes began doing projects … and [sales] at our retail centers began to skyrocket in May.”
Stanley reported $395 million in third-quarter profits, or $2.44 per diluted share, vs. Â $231 million in profits, or $1.53 per diluted share, in the year-ago period.
The company’s third-quarter sales hit $3.9 billion, about 6% higher than the same period last year.
Stanley’s tools and storage unit was its strongest with about $2.8 billion in sales between the beginning of July to the end of September, an 11% increase over the year-ago period. The company’s industrial segment posted $587 million in third-quarter profits — a 7% drop from last year — and its security unit did about $460 million in sales, a 1% dip from 2019’s third quarter.
In a call with investors Tuesday, Loree said he thinks the growth Stanley showed in the third quarter is a sign of an upward trajectory that could continue after several quarters of pandemic-related downturn.
“We believe the growth in margins story is sustainable,” Loree said.Â
