UNITED STATIONERS POSTS RECORD Q1 SALES

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Date: Thursday May 24, 2007 10:23:00 am
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    United Stationers posts record Q1 sales
    May 2007 — Deerfield (IL): United Stationers has reported record Q1 net sales of $1.2 billion, up 3.9 percent from $1.1 billion in the same period last year. Diluted EPS rose to a record high of $0.90, up 61 percent from the prior-year’s EPS of $0.56. Sales of Jan/San supplies and cut sheet paper were the strongest contributors to growth.

    President and CEO Dick Gochnauer said: “We began the year with record first quarter sales and a significant improvement in operating margin. Favourable results from our investment in enhancing margin management, combined with holding the line on costs, contributed to our strong financial performance. We are in the process of developing detailed plans and strategies to remove approximately $100 million in annual costs over the five-year period beginning in 2007. These actions, combined with our value drivers, should allow us to achieve United’s long-term financial objective of increasing earnings per share by 12 percent to 15 percent per year.”Operating income for Q1 was $50.9 million, up from $37.9 million in 2006. Diluted EPS from continuing operations were $0.90, versus $0.65 in the prior-year quarter.During the quarter, the company repurchased approximately 1.8 million shares of its common stock for $101.4 million.Gochnauer continued: “We are in the process of reviewing financing alternatives that will give us the flexibility to continue our share repurchase programme. We view share repurchases as an excellent way to return value to our shareholders.”We believe the company is well positioned to deliver strong financial results in 2007. Following our record sales in the first quarter, sales growth for the second quarter continues to trend in the low single digits over last year.”Significant progress is being made in our efforts to deliver profitable sales growth, drive out waste, expand our private brands, optimise our assets, leverage the potential of our Sweet Paper acquisition, and enhance our marketing capabilities. The success of these six key value drivers is important to our overall strategy,” he added.”Our goal is to achieve solid financial performance this year through focused efforts on increasing sales, managing gross margins, controlling costs and improving cash flow. These collective efforts should lead to enhanced shareholder value.

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