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wesco WESCO International , Inc. Reports First Quarter 2021 Results May 6 , 2021 12:00 PM EDT First quarter summary : • Net sales of $ 4.0 billion , up more than double due to the Anixter merger • Up 3.2 % on a pro forma workday - adjusted basis • • Operating profit of $ 133.3 million ; operating margin of 3.3 % • Gross margin of 20.1 % , up 100 basis points year - over - year and 50 bps basis points sequentially • Adjusted operating profit of $ 170.6 million ; adjusted operating margin of 4.2 % , up 90 basis points • Adjusted EBITDA of $ 216.5 million ; adjusted EBITDA margin of 5.4 % , up 100 basis points Earnings per diluted share of $ 0.87 Adjusted earnings per diluted share of $ 1.43 . Operating cash flow of $ 120.5 million • • Free cash flow of $ 124.8 million , 141 % of adjusted net income Leverage of 4.9x ; improvement of 0.4x sequentially and 0.8x since Anixter merger • Net debt reduction of $ 144 million in the first quarter , and $ 534 million since the Anixter merger Raising 2021 outlook for adjusted earnings per diluted share to a range of $ 6.80 to $ 7.30 PITTSBURGH , May 6 , 2021 / PRNewswire / -- WESCO International , Inc. ( NYSE : WCC ) , a leading provider of business - to - business distribution , logistics services and supply chain solutions , announces its results for the first quarter of 2021 . " We're off to a great start to the year and delivered excellent results across the board that exceeded our expectations . I am very proud of our team and the work that they are doing in executing our integration plan , delivering the synergies , and capturing the value of the transformational combination of WESCO and Anixter , " said John Engel , Chairman , President and CEO . " We're outperforming our markets , delivering significant margin expansion , and generating very strong free cash flow . With over $ 500 million of debt reduction over the last three quarters , our financial leverage is now below 5.0X , showing the power of our business model . The first quarter is another strong proof point of the substantial value creation potential of WESCO plus Anixter . " " We are seeing positive sales and margin momentum across each of our three global business units . Backlog has reached a new all - time record level , our margin improvement programs are generating results , and structural cost takeout has increased our operating leverage . As a result of our strong first quarter results and accelerated synergy realization to start the year , we are raising our full - year 2021 outlook for sales , synergies , and profitability . We now expect sales to increase 4.5 % to 7.5 % , adjusted EBITDA margin to expand to 5.8 % to 6.1 % , and adjusted EPS to grow to $ 6.80 to $ 7.30 . " " The strength of our franchise , power of our industry - leading value proposition , and benefits of our increased scale , is now more evident than ever . As the economic recovery accelerates , we are exceptionally well positioned to capitalize on the secular growth trends of electrification , automation , communications and security . " The following are results for the three months ended March 31 , 2021 compared to the three months ended March 31 , 2020 :