Astro-Med reports increase in profit, sales in 3Q

HIGH-TECH MANUFACTURER Astro-Med Inc. saw its revenue and profit increase in the third quarter that ended Nov. 1.  / COURTESY ASTRO-MED INC.
HIGH-TECH MANUFACTURER Astro-Med Inc. saw its revenue and profit increase in the third quarter that ended Nov. 1. / COURTESY ASTRO-MED INC.

WEST WARWICK – Astro-Med reported increases in profit and sales, 40 percent and 27 percent, respectively, for the third quarter that ended Nov. 1.
The company, which makes specialty high-tech printing systems and data acquisition products, said profit jumped to $1.6 million, or 20 cents per diluted share, this past quarter compared with $1.1 million, or 14 cents per diluted share, a year ago.
Net sales increased to a $23.1 million in the third quarter from $18.1 million during the same period a year ago.
“By concentrating on three key areas – product development, manufacturing efficiency and geographic expansion – we are achieving increasing levels of operational and financial success,” Astro-Med President and CEO Gregory A. Woods said in a statement.
“Our third-quarter performance reflected these efforts. Solid demand across all product lines generated record third quarter net sales, as our QuickLabel Systems and Test & Measurement segments increased approximately 22 percent and 39 percent, respectively,” Woods said.
Higher revenue, paired with the company’s ongoing “lean manufacturing initiatives, contributed to a 340 basis-point increase in our gross margin, which grew to 43.9 percent in the quarter,” Woods said.
The company highlighted new products in its earnings release, including narrow-format digital color label printers and color digital label printers that make non-laminated industrial labels that will be exposed to sunlight, chemicals, dirt or other conditions that would test their color fastness. The company also has transitioned manufacturing for Miltope’s aerospace printer line from Alabama to its manufacturing facility in West Warwick, and has opened an office in Malaysia.
Astro-Med plans additional expansion in the Asia Pacific region in the fourth quarter. The company ended Nov. 1 with cash and cash equivalents of $30.9 million, compared with $27.1 million on Jan. 31.

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