Sales up 153% at Stanley Black & Decker

New Britain, Conn.-based tool giant Stanley Black & Decker says its corporate integration is moving ahead faster than expected, and will lead to $125 million in "cost synergies" in 2010 -- $35 million more than planned.

Stanley Works and Black & Decker completed their merger in March. In its third-quarter earnings statement released Wednesday, Stanley reported net earnings of $123.2 million, up from $60.4 million in the pre-merger prior-year quarter.

Sales increased to $2.369 billion, up from a pre-merger $935.5 million, an increase of 153%.

New products and a smooth integration fueled the strong performance, according to Stanley Black & Decker president and CEO John F. Lundgren.

“We are very pleased with the organic revenue growth achieved across many of our businesses in the third quarter, which was driven by the launch of a number of successful new products and the impact of our commitment to outstanding customer service," he said in a prepared statement. "The integration of Stanley Black & Decker is proceeding ahead of plan and based on our execution and experience to date, we now expect to realize $125 million in cost synergies in 2010, $35 million more than originally forecast. In addition, as we continue to analyze the revenue synergy potential for the combined company, we have reason to believe that execution of these initiatives will drive significant additional top-line growth in the coming years.”

The earnings report was the second since the company's merger.