01:38 PM EDT, 07/12/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Fastenal's ( FAST ) second-quarter earnings matched Wall Street's views while its sales rose year over year, even as the industrial and construction supplies distributor continues to face a tough business environment.

Net income fell to $0.51 a share in the quarter through June 30 from $0.52 a year earlier, while net sales rose 1.8% to $1.92 billion. Analysts polled by Capital IQ were looking for $1.91 billion in revenue.

"We continue to experience sluggish business activity that has persisted long enough at this point to be spurring an uptick in layoffs and shift reductions," Chief Financial Officer Holden Lewis said Friday on an earnings conference call, according to a Capital IQ transcript. "Industrial production continues to exhibit modest declines as we saw in April and May, with the key machinery component being weaker than the overall index, and we're feeling that."

The daily sales rate of fasteners fell 3% during the quarter, compared with a flat reading a year earlier, amid contractions in original equipment manufacturing and maintenance, repair, and operations products. Non-manufacturing end markets fell 1%, reflecting continued contraction in nonresidential construction and reseller end markets, though warehousing customers saw "strong" growth, Lewis told analysts.

The company said it saw higher unit sales in the quarter amid growth with larger customers and new onsite locations in the past two years.

Fastenal ( FAST ) shares were up 2.8% in Friday afternoon trade.

Product pricing dragged sales lower by 30 basis points to 60 basis points, according to a statement. While fastener prices continue to be down, the company saw "some slippage" in price from non-fastener products, Lewis said on the call. "I don't want to overstate the impact," he added.

Fastenal ( FAST ) increased its full-year outlook for investment in property and equipment, net of sales proceeds, to between $235 million and $255 million from its prior range of $225 million to $245 million.

It's "unclear" when business activity will improve and how impactful holiday shutdowns or the recent hurricane in Texas will be on July, Lewis told analysts. "Even so, barring further erosion in macro conditions, the strong signings activity of the first half of (2024) should benefit sales trends in the second half of 2024 and into 2025."

Separately, Fastenal ( FAST ) said Chief Sales Officer Jeff Watts will also assume the president role, effective Aug. 1, succeeding Dan Florness, who will continue as chief executive.

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