On the evening of April 12, Beijing time, Fastennal Co (FAST), North America’s largest fastener distributor, announced that its first-quarter net profit increased by 42% and its revenue increased by 23%.

Fastenal opened 37 stores in the first quarter, up from 29 in the same period of last year. The company plans to open 150 to 200 new stores in 2011.

Revenue increased from 521 million U.S. dollars in the same period of the previous year to 641 million U.S. dollars, higher than the average analyst estimate of 629 million U.S. dollars.

For the quarter ended March 31st, the company’s net profit increased from US$56 million, or 38 cents per share, to US$77.5 million, or 54 cents per share, higher than analysts surveyed by FactSet. The average expected 51 cents.