Fastenal CEO Reflects on 2013 Challenges
2/10/2014 12:01:00 AM
FEATURE
Fastenal CEO WIll Oberton calls 2013 a “very challenging year” for his company, in an article published by the Winona Daily News.
Fastenal sales for the year increased 6.1% to $3.32 billion, with pre-tax earnings up 5.8% to $713.5 million and net earnings gaining 6.7% to $448.6 million.
The company took the unusual step of warning investors in December that the company’s performance had not been as strong as expected.
In a wide-ranging interview, Oberton told the Daily News that his biggest regret about 2013 relates to hiring.
When asked what he would have changed about 2013, Oberton said: “I would have started hiring sooner. We started accelerating our hiring in June. If I would have done that in January, I think the second half of the year would have looked different.”
But he’s confident that 2014 will be better.
“I think 2014 will turn out to be a good year,” he told the Daily News. “Maybe not a great year. If the economy were to turn positive, we have the potential for a very good year.”
To read the Daily News’ article on Oberton click here.
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