Ennis' net earnings impacted by lower apparel sales

20 Dec '11

4 min read

Ennis Inc. reported financial results for the three and nine months ended November 30, 2011.

Financial Overview
Our consolidated net sales for the quarter was $121.8 million, or down 9.6% from $134.8 million for the same quarter last year. Our print sales for the quarter were basically flat quarter over quarter at $69.2 million for the current quarter as compared to $69.5 million for the same quarter last year.

Our apparel sales at $52.6 million for the quarter were down $12.7 million as compared to $65.3 million for the same quarter last year due to softness in the market and competitive pricing pressures.

Overall our gross profit margins ("margins") for the quarter were 24.8% as compared to 27.1% to for the same quarter last year. On a segment basis, our print margins were basically flat at 27.8% for the current quarter versus 27.9% for the same quarter last year, while our apparel margins, due to continued higher input costs, decreased from 26.3% to 20.8%.

Our net earnings for the quarter, which were impacted by our lower apparel sales and margins, were $6.9 million or $.27 per diluted share, as compared to $9.6 million or $.37 per diluted share for the same quarter last year.

For the nine month period, our net sales decreased from $418.6 million for the nine months ended November 30, 2010 to $395.5 million for the nine months ended November 30, 2011, or a decrease of 5.5%.

Our print sales for the period again remained relatively stable at $205.5 million, compared to $206.5 million for the same period last year. Our apparel sales for the period were $189.9 million, as compared to $212.1 million for the same period last year, or a decrease of 10.5%.

Overall our margins for the period decreased from 28.3% to 26.3% for the nine months ended November 30, 2010 and 2011, respectively. Our print margins decreased slightly during the period from 28.8% to 28.4%, while our apparel margins decreased from 27.8% to 24.0%, again due to higher input costs.

Our net earnings for the period decreased from $34.8 million, or 8.3% of sales for the nine months ended November 30, 2010, to $28.0 million or 7.1% of sales for the nine months ended November 30, 2011. Our diluted earnings decreased from $1.34 per share to $1.08 per share for the nine months ended November 30, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

The Company, during the quarter, generated $14.5 million in EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) compared to $18.1 million for the comparable quarter last year. For the nine month period ended November 30, 2011, the Company generated $55.3 million of EBITDA during the period, compared to $64.1 million for the comparable period last year.

Keith Walters, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, commented by saying, “Overall the operational results delivered for the quarter were as expected from both the print and apparel perspective. Our print operations continued to deliver steady revenue levels and operational results, while our apparel margins continued to be compressed as expected by higher raw material costs.

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