AKRON, OHIO (July 10, 1:15 p.m. ET) — Myers Industries Inc. has reported a solid increase in second-quarter earnings despite a modest 2 percent increase in sales from a year earlier.

The Akron-based manufacturing and distribution company said its net income in the quarter climbed 21 percent, to $5.66 million from $4.66 million. Diluted per-share profits rose even more, increasing 31 percent to 17 cents from 13 cents, because of fewer shares outstanding this year.

Sales at Myers edged up to $181.1 million from $177.3 million in the second quarter of 2011. The company’s cost of sales essentially was flat, at $133.7 million in the latest second quarter versus $132.8 million in the year-earlier period.

Myers said its gross margin expanded to 26.2 percent in the second quarter of 2012 from 25.1 percent in the second quarter of 2011. It said the expansion “was due mostly to reduced costs and productivity improvements resulting from continued execution of the company’s operations excellence initiatives.”

Myers said it expects some mixed trends in the second half of 2012.

“Results should benefit from the shifting of orders from the second quarter to late in the second half of 2012 as well as from the company’s operations excellence program,” Myers said. “However, the soft economy may offset a portion of these benefits. The company expects full-year results to reflect continued solid performance.”

Myers did not offer a specific earnings forecast.