April 11 (Reuters) - Industrial supplies maker Fastenal ( FAST )

missed Wall Street estimates for first-quarter results

on Thursday, hurt by weak demand and lower pricing for its

fasteners, while adverse weather also crimped sales.

Shares of the Winona, Minnesota-based company fell about 6%

in premarket trading.

Rising financing costs for big residential projects due to

elevated interest rates and adverse weather events have slowed

down U.S. construction activity, hurting companies like

Fastenal ( FAST ).

Fasteners, one of the wholesale distributor's core segments,

saw its sales fall to 31.5% of the company's total sales,

compared with 33.6% a year earlier.

Daily sales rate for fasteners declined 4.4%, even as sales

of safety supplies jumped 8.3%.

The nuts and bolts maker's gross profit margin fell to

45.5% in the quarter ended March 31, from 45.7% a year ago.

"The effect of adverse weather in the first quarter of 2024

was a reduction in sales by 35 to 55 basis points," the company

said.

Net income rose slightly to $297.7 million, in the first

quarter, from $295.1 million a year earlier. It reported a

profit of 52 cents per share.

Analysts on average had expected the company to report

earnings of 53 cents per share, according to LSEG data.

Its revenue rose 1.9% to $1.90 billion, falling short of

analysts' estimates of $1.91 billion.