Stanley's Q3: struggling but stabilizing

Net sales at New Britain, Conn.-based Stanley Works declined 16.3% to $935.5 million in the third quarter.

The company posted net earnings from continuing operations of $62.1 million, down 19.8% from the same quarter last year.

Stanley Works -- the iconic brand that describes itself as a diversified worldwide supplier of tools and engineered solutions for professional, industrial, construction and do-it-yourself use -- said its consumer do-it-yourself (CDIY) segment experienced stabilizing sales trends during the quarter in almost every region across the globe. CDIY showed a 23% sales decline compared with the same quarter last year, and an 11% profit decline.

The company's other segments -- security and industrial -- fared better and worse, respectively. Security achieved 3% sales growth and 13% profit growth compared with the prior-year quarter; and industrial was down 31% in sales and 53% in profits.

On the positive side of the ledger, SWK reported a record gross margin rate of 41.3% in the quarter. And the company's integration with Bostitch is exceeding its internal expectations, it said.

The company also raised its 2209 earnings forecast to the range of $2.84 to $2.94 per share, up from a previous forecast of $2.34 to $2.84.

"We are encouraged by the second consecutive quarter of record gross margins despite the market-driven volume headwinds we experienced through September," said John Lundgren, chairman and CEO. "Our ongoing success in tailoring our product and service offerings to best fit our customers' needs is producing market share gains within a majority of our businesses while positioning us to take full advantage of the mild stabilization we are experiencing in select end markets."