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Ennis Releases Q2 Sales Figures

Top 40 supplier Ennis (asi/52493) announced it reached $91.2 million in net sales for the fiscal second quarter of 2016 that ended August 31 – a decrease of 9.3% compared to $100.5 million in the same quarter last year. For the first six-month period of fiscal 2016, the company reached $181.7 million in net sales compared to $197.2 million for the same period last year, a decrease of 7.9%.

Relocation of the company’s Folder Express operations from Omaha, NE, to Columbus, KS, (which cost the company $1.2 million for the quarter and $2.7 million over its fiscal first half) and a $2.3 million charge for higher-than-normal medical expenses impacted the second-quarter results.

“The financial performance for the quarter was an improvement over the sequential quarter’s results,” said Keith Walters, chairman, CEO and president, in an official statement. “The quarter actually would have exceeded, on a percentage basis, our prior year’s print results, if you excluded the $2.3 million adjustment we made to our medical reserve and the impact of the relocation of our Folder Express operations.”

Walters went on to say the Folder Express operations were likely to become an earnings contributor ahead of the previously announced plan. As for the medical expenses, Walters said implementation of any alternative plan wouldn’t impact earnings until the next fiscal year.

Ennis reports that gross profit margin for continuing operations in the first quarter was $27 million for the quarter, or 29.6%, as compared to 29.5% for the sequential quarter and 31.2% for the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, diluted earnings per share from continuing operations were 26 cents, compared to 37 cents for the same quarter last year.

In April, Ennis divested its Alstyle Apparel (asi/34817) business and sold a 100% equity stake to Gildan Activewear (asi/56842) for $110 million.

“Overall, the business climate remains challenging, as we face predatory pricing, among other factors,” Walters said. “However, we continue to believe we are well positioned to not only provide our customers quality products, but products that are competitively priced.”

According to Counselor’s State of the Industry data, Ennis generated $253 million in North American promotional product revenue in 2015, a 1.6% decline from the previous year.