For the fiscal 2009 third quarter, net sales were $350.5 million, compared with $457.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2008. Fiscal 2009 third quarter operating income was $45.2 million, or 12.9% of net sales, compared with $84.8 million, or 18.5% of net sales, in the prior year period. Net income for the fiscal 2009 third quarter was $27.8 million, compared with net income of $51.4 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2008. Diluted earnings per share in the fiscal 2009 third quarter were $0.44 (based on 62.6 million diluted shares outstanding), compared to $0.81 (based on 63.7 million diluted shares outstanding) in the third quarter of fiscal 2008.

Net sales for the first nine months of fiscal 2009 were $1.135 billion, compared with net sales of $1.331 billion in the first nine months of fiscal 2008. For the first nine months of fiscal 2009, operating income was $162.9 million, or 14.3% of net sales, compared with $241.4 million, or 18.1% of net sales, in the first nine months of fiscal 2008. Net income for the first nine months of fiscal 2009 was $99.1 million compared with $145.7 million in the prior year period. Diluted earnings per share for the first nine months of fiscal 2009 were $1.59 (based on 62.5 million diluted shares outstanding), compared to $2.23 (based on 65.2 million diluted shares outstanding) a year ago.

"Our performance in the fiscal third quarter represents solid execution in the face of ongoing difficult market conditions," said David Sandler, President and Chief Executive Officer. "During the quarter, we continued to provide our customers with industry-leading service levels and total cost reduction solutions, maintaining our focus on market share gains throughout the period. We also realized significant benefits from the cost savings measures we have implemented, and executed on protecting our gross margins in what continued to be a highly competitive environment. As a result, we were able to achieve greater profitability than originally anticipated, and built on our already strong levels of free cash flow in the quarter. We continue to believe that the current environment creates a significant opportunity for us to invest in the growth of our business and position ourselves for the future. We used our strong cash flows to make prudent investments in our future growth, by adding to our sales team, improving our operational efficiency, further enhancing our service model, and expanding our geographic presence. We believe that our investments through this cycle are widening the gap between MSC and its smaller competitors and that this period represents the greatest market share gain opportunity in our history."

"We are very pleased with our financial performance in the fiscal third quarter," said Chuck Boehlke, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "By carefully controlling our costs, we were able to achieve margins that were above our expectations, despite the soft sales environment. Our balance sheet and cash management continues to be outstanding. By successfully managing our working capital, we were able to convert over 300% of our net income into operating cash flow, exceeding third quarter 2008 levels and resulting in free cash flow (see Note 1) of $86.0 million. Based on our strong balance sheet and liquidity position, we remain confident in our ability to strategically invest in our future and take advantage of growth opportunities as they arise."

Mr. Sandler concluded, "While our performance in the fiscal third quarter was better than anticipated, visibility remains limited as we continue to operate in one of the most severe economic downturns our industry has ever experienced. Feedback from our customers indicates that market conditions have remained weak without any expected near-term improvement. As a result, we are anticipating summer shutdowns that will be more prevalent and longer in duration than last year. Although these factors will likely impact sales in the coming months, we continue to believe that a larger proportion of customer business is being shifted to MSC, as our unmatched customer service, product offering, and value-added solutions make us a partner our customers can trust to support their supply chain needs. Despite these challenging times, our business continues to perform well and we believe that the steps we are taking will position us for robust growth in revenues and earnings when our markets improve."

For the fiscal 2009 fourth quarter, the Company currently expects net sales of between $336.0 million and $348.0 million, and expects diluted earnings per share to be between $0.33 and $0.37. Expectations are based on MSC's financial performance in the first several weeks of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. The Company cautioned that its guidance should be viewed in the context of the unprecedented market conditions and the resulting variability in actual results versus expectations.

The management of MSC will host a conference call today, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time, to review the Company's results for the fiscal 2009 third quarter, and to comment on current operations. The call may be accessed via the Internet in the Investor Relations section (under "About MSC") of MSC's website located at: www.mscdirect.com. A replay of the conference call will be available on the Company's website through July 16, 2009.

Note 1 -- Free cash flow is defined as net cash provided by operating activities less expenditures for property, plant and equipment as shown on the Company's condensed consolidated statements of cash flows. Net cash provided by operating activities during the fiscal 2009 third quarter was $91.3 million. Expenditures for property, plant and equipment during the fiscal 2009 third quarter were $5.3 million. Management considers free cash flow to be an important indicator of the Company's financial strength and the ability to generate liquidity because it reflects cash generated from operations that can be used for strategic initiatives, dividends, debt repayment and repurchases of the Company's stock. Free cash flow is not a measure determined in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), and may not be defined and calculated by other companies in the same manner. Free cash flow should not be considered a substitute for "Operating income," "Net income," "Net cash flows provided by operating activities" or any other measure determined in accordance with GAAP.

About MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc.

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. is one of the premier distributors of Metalworking and Maintenance, Repair and Operations ("MRO") supplies to industrial customers throughout the United States. MSC distributes approximately 590,000 industrial products from approximately 3,000 suppliers to approximately 350,000 customers. In-stock availability is approximately 99%, with next day standard delivery to the contiguous United States on qualifying orders up until 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. MSC reaches its customers through a combination of approximately 27 million direct-mail catalogs and CD-ROMs, 96 branch sales offices, 927 sales people, the Internet and associations with some of the world's most prominent B2B e-commerce portals. For more information, visit the Company's website at http://www.mscdirect.com.