Summary by Business Segment

3 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2014

Segment Reporting, Measurement Disclosures [Abstract]

Summary by Business Segment [Text Block]

SUMMARY BY BUSINESS SEGMENT

Business segment information for the Company’s Distribution and All Other Operations business segments is presented in the following table for the three months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013. Although corporate operating expenses are generally allocated to each business segment based on sales dollars, the Company reported expenses (excluding depreciation) related to the implementation of its SAP system under selling, distribution and administrative expenses in the “Eliminations and Other” column. Intercompany sales are recorded on the same basis as sales to third parties and intercompany transactions are eliminated in consolidation. Management utilizes more than one measurement and multiple views of data to measure segment performance and to allocate resources to the segments. However, the predominant measurements are consistent with the Company’s consolidated financial statements and accordingly, are reported on the same basis in the following table.

	Three Months Ended									Three Months Ended
	June 30, 2014									June 30, 2013
(In thousands)	Distribution		All Other Ops.		Eliminations and Other			Total		Distribution		All Other Ops.		Eliminations and Other			Total
Gas and rent	$	696,565	$	136,092	$	(7,066	)	$	825,591	$	672,486	$	145,867	$	(8,461	)	$	809,892
Hardgoods	487,047		951		(2		)	487,996		468,598		1,403		(2		)	469,999
Net sales (a)	1,183,612		137,043		(7,068		)	1,313,587		1,141,084		147,270		(8,463		)	1,279,891
Cost of products sold (excluding depreciation) (a)	520,933		69,541		(7,068		)	583,406		505,127		78,879		(8,463		)	575,543
Selling, distribution and administrative expenses	449,639		45,074		—			494,713		427,231		43,540		2,704			473,475
Depreciation	66,462		6,173		—			72,635		61,664		5,366		—			67,030
Amortization	6,724		1,028		—			7,752		6,062		1,167		—			7,229
Total costs and expenses	1,043,758		121,816		(7,068		)	1,158,506		1,000,084		128,952		(5,759		)	1,123,277
Operating income	$	139,854	$	15,227	$	—		$	155,081	$	141,000	$	18,318	$	(2,704	)	$	156,614

____________________

^(a) Amounts in the “Eliminations and Other” column represent the elimination of intercompany sales and associated gross profit on sales from the Company’s All Other Operations business segment to its Distribution business segment.