Snap-on posts in-line quarterly net sales; Tools Group notes lower revenue

Feb 6 (Reuters) - Tools and equipment maker Snap-on SNA.N posts quarterly net sales in line with estimates on Thursday, while its Tools Group segment showed weaker performance, sending its shares down 3.2% before the bell.

Snap-on's largest segment by revenue, Tools Group, which provides mobile tools for vehicle service and repair technicians, saw a 1.4% fall in quarterly net sales on lower activity in the U.S. amid a recovering inflationary environment.

"Still, we are encouraged by ongoing improvement in the U.S. — albeit slower than we hoped for Q4. — given the ongoing pivot to selling more lower priced products into the Tools network," Roth Capital Partners' analysts said in a note.

The company's fourth-quarter net sales rose 0.2% to $1.199 billion, compared with analysts' estimates of $1.197 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The Kenosha, Wisconsin-based company's quarterly profit rose to $264.2 million or $4.82 per share, from $261.3 million or $4.75 per share a year ago.