Dave Savastano11.26.14
Brady Corporation reported its financial results for its fiscal 2015 first quarter ended Oct. 31, 2014.
Sales for the quarter ended Oct. 31, 2014 increased 0.9% to $310.2 million compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2014. Total organic sales increased 2.4% and foreign currency translation decreased sales by 1.5%.
Earnings from continuing operations for the quarter were $15.5 million compared to $18.1 million in the same quarter last year. Non-GAAP net earnings from continuing operations for the quarter were $18.4 million compared to $22.8 million in the same quarter last year.
“We were encouraged by our revenue growth in the first quarter, which marks the third consecutive quarter of organic sales growth,” said J. Michael Nauman, Brady president and CEO. “Although we had organic sales growth, we continued to incur costs related to the consolidation of our manufacturing facilities and have been experiencing challenges in terms of sales mix. We have scaled back our facility consolidation efforts and our remaining facility consolidation activities will be executed in a manner that will allow us to maintain the highest service levels and least disruptions to our customers while still achieving efficiency gains over the long run. We expect to incur additional incremental costs from these facility consolidation activities in the near-term and expect to complete our facility consolidation activities by July 31, 2015.”
“During the quarter ended Oct. 31, 2014, we generated cash flow from operating activities of $18.6 million, returned $10.2 million to our shareholders in the form of dividends and we reduced our net debt position by $7.2 million, further strengthening our balance sheet,” said Brady CFO Aaron J. Pearce. “Looking forward, we expect to deploy a prioritized capital allocation approach, whereby our first priority will be to invest in organic growth initiatives followed by returning funds to our shareholders through dividends. Share buybacks are expected to be our third priority for cash deployment and will be conducted in an opportunistic manner. We do not anticipate acquisitions to be a significant use of cash in the near-term.”
The company anticipates low single-digit organic sales growth in fiscal 2015, with organic sales growth in both the Identification Solutions and Workplace Safety platforms.
Sales for the quarter ended Oct. 31, 2014 increased 0.9% to $310.2 million compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2014. Total organic sales increased 2.4% and foreign currency translation decreased sales by 1.5%.
Earnings from continuing operations for the quarter were $15.5 million compared to $18.1 million in the same quarter last year. Non-GAAP net earnings from continuing operations for the quarter were $18.4 million compared to $22.8 million in the same quarter last year.
“We were encouraged by our revenue growth in the first quarter, which marks the third consecutive quarter of organic sales growth,” said J. Michael Nauman, Brady president and CEO. “Although we had organic sales growth, we continued to incur costs related to the consolidation of our manufacturing facilities and have been experiencing challenges in terms of sales mix. We have scaled back our facility consolidation efforts and our remaining facility consolidation activities will be executed in a manner that will allow us to maintain the highest service levels and least disruptions to our customers while still achieving efficiency gains over the long run. We expect to incur additional incremental costs from these facility consolidation activities in the near-term and expect to complete our facility consolidation activities by July 31, 2015.”
“During the quarter ended Oct. 31, 2014, we generated cash flow from operating activities of $18.6 million, returned $10.2 million to our shareholders in the form of dividends and we reduced our net debt position by $7.2 million, further strengthening our balance sheet,” said Brady CFO Aaron J. Pearce. “Looking forward, we expect to deploy a prioritized capital allocation approach, whereby our first priority will be to invest in organic growth initiatives followed by returning funds to our shareholders through dividends. Share buybacks are expected to be our third priority for cash deployment and will be conducted in an opportunistic manner. We do not anticipate acquisitions to be a significant use of cash in the near-term.”
The company anticipates low single-digit organic sales growth in fiscal 2015, with organic sales growth in both the Identification Solutions and Workplace Safety platforms.