Ennis Inc. Reports Financial Results for the Three and Six Months Ended Aug. 31, 2015 and Declares Quarterly Dividend
Ennis Inc., Midlothian, Texas, reported financial results for the three and six months ended Aug. 31, 2015. Highlights include:
- Consolidated net sales increased $8.3 million for the six months, or 2.8 percent.
- EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, increased 10.1 percent over the comparable six-month period.
- Cash provided by operating activities increased by 87.6 percent over the comparable six-month period.
- Diluted earnings per share increased 10.3 percent from the comparable quarter last year from $0.39 to $0.43 and increased 14.5 percent from the comparable period last year from $0.69 to $0.79.
Financial Overview
The company’s consolidated net sales for the quarter ended Aug. 31, 2015 were $150.8 million compared to $151.8 million for the same quarter last year, a decrease of 0.7 percent. Print sales increased 2.7 percent from $97.9 million to $100.5 million and apparel sales decreased 6.9 percent from $54.0 million to $50.3 million. Consolidated gross profit margin (“margin”) was $40.6 million for the quarter, or 26.9 percent, compared to $38.2 million, or 25.1 percent for the same quarter last year. Print margin was 31.2 percent for the quarter compared to 31.1 percent for the same quarter last year, while apparel margin was 18.4 percent for the quarter compared to 14.3 percent for the comparable quarter last year. Apparel margin was positively impacted by improving manufacturing efficiencies and lower input costs. Net earnings for the quarter was $11.0 million, or $0.43 per diluted share as compared to $10.0 million, or $0.39 per diluted share for the same quarter last year, an increase of 10.3 percent.
The company’s consolidated net sales for the six-month period increased from $293.0 million to $301.3 million, or 2.8 percent. Print sales were $197.2 million, compared to $186.3 million for the same period last year, an increase of $10.9 million, or 5.9 percent. Apparel sales were $104.1 million, compared to $106.8 million for the same period last year, a decrease of $2.7 million or 2.5 percent. Consolidated margin increased on a dollar basis from $73.6 million to $78.2 million and increased on a percentage basis from 25.1 percent to 25.9 percent for the six months ended Aug. 31, 2014 and 2015, respectively. Print margin increased from 30.8 percent to 31.1 percent due to continued elimination of duplicative costs associated with our recent acquisitions. Apparel margin increased from 15.1 percent to 16.2 percent due to improving manufacturing efficiencies and lower input costs during the current quarter. As a result, consolidated net earnings increased from $18.0 million, or 6.2 percent of net sales, for the six months ended Aug. 31, 2014 to $20.2 million, or 6.7 percent of net sales, for the six months ended Aug. 31, 2015. Diluted earnings per share increased 14.5 percent from $0.69 to $0.79 for the six months ended Aug. 31, 2014 and 2015, respectively.
Keith Walters, Ennis Inc. chairman, chief executive officer and president, released the following statement:
Our print group’s performance continued to be solid during the quarter. Our apparel group’s performance showed significant improvement during the quarter. Improved manufacturing efficiencies and lower input costs during the quarter allowed the apparel group to show margin improvements of 410 basis points over the comparable quarter last year and 430 basis points over the most recent previous quarter. During the quarter, we started to see the benefit of lower cotton and other input costs. On the print front, we continue to be pleased with the integration of the latest acquisitions and the margins of our print group as a whole. We also continued to pay down our debt during the quarter by 26.3 percent, or $22.5 million, due to the effective management of our receivables and inventories. Overall, while we continue to believe fiscal year 2016 will continue to be challenging due to the overall retail and global economic environment, we continue to remain optimistic about the remainder of the year.
In other news, the company announced that the board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 17.5 cents a share on its common stock. The dividend is payable Nov. 6, 2015 to shareholders of record on Oct. 9, 2015.
For more information, visit www.ennis.com.