By Susan A. Baird
PBN Web Editor
LINCOLN – Personal and business accessories maker A.T. Cross Co. (AMEX: ATX) posted a first-quarter profit of $602,000, or nearly five times the year-ago period’s $123,000, on revenue that rose 11.3 percent to $32.6 million.
Earnings per diluted share increased to 4 cents from the year-ago 1 cent, though they remained far short of the 22 cents per share recorded in the 2007 fourth quarter, a traditionally lucrative one.
The results reflect the company’s March 25 acquisition of Native Eyewear Inc., a Pennsylvania-based supplier of sport performance sunglasses and goggles to retailers nationwide, for $18.8 million in cash and debt. (READ MORE) Native will be run as part of A.T. Cross’s Optical Group, along with the Costa Del Mar brand the business and personal accessories company acquired in 2003.
The Optical Group posted a segment profit of $1.03 million, a 57.3 percent increase from the 2007 first quarter’s $655,000. Its sales, including five days of Native Eyewear business, rose 23.5 percent to $9.73 million.
The Cross Accessories Division (CAD) posted a first-quarter loss of $17,000, a 95.4-percent decline from the division’s year-ago loss of $367,000. Sales of writing instruments and accessories rose 7.4 percent year-over-year to $25.53 million. “Also during the current quarter, the CAD division made progress towards its full-year inventory-reduction goal of approximately $3 million,” trimming its inventory by $1.2 million from its level at year’s end, the company said.
“We continue to make progress on each of our core strategies: to grow our business organically, to make accretive acquisitions, to improve our profitability and to unlock the benefits of scale in our optical business,” President and CEO David G. Whalen said in a statement.
“We are proud to continue to execute well, even in the face of challenging retail trends. The global diversification of the Cross business and the power of both the Cross and Costa Del Mar brands continue to protect our opportunity.”
The company has raised its sales and earnings targets for 2008 in light of its Native Eyewear purchase. Cross now projects sales growth of 10 percent to 12 percent, up from its previous target of 6-percent to 8-percent growth, and earnings of 49 cents to 51 cents per share, rather than the 48 to 50 cents of its February prediction. (READ MORE)
A.T. Cross Co. (AMEX: ATX) is a designer and maker of branded personal and business accessories including writing instruments, leather goods, time pieces and Costa Del Mar and Native Eyewear sunglasses. Additional information is available at www.cross.com.
