Astro-Med sales, profit rise in 1Q

HIGH-TECH MANUFACTURER Astro-Med Inc. reported an increase in sales and profit in the first quarter. / COURTESY ASTRO-MED INC.
HIGH-TECH MANUFACTURER Astro-Med Inc. reported an increase in sales and profit in the first quarter. / COURTESY ASTRO-MED INC.

WEST WARWICK – Astro-Med Inc. reported an increase in sales and profit in the first quarter, and received record orders of $26.1 million during that period, the company’s president and CEO said Tuesday.
Astro-Med, which makes specialty printers, and test and measurement devices, reported $22.2 million in sales for the quarter that ended May 2, a 6.9 percent increase compared with $20.8 million reported during the year-ago period.
First-quarter profit was $1.2 million, or 16 cents per diluted share, a 7.3 percent increase compared with $1.1 million, or 14 cents per diluted share, during the year-ago quarter.
“We posted a strong first quarter, with all product lines contributing to the year-over-year increase in our top line,” Astro-Med President and CEO Gregory A. Woods said in a statement. “As evidenced by the record orders of $26.1 million received in the first quarter, our strategic focus on refreshing our lineup of data visualization products is generating an enthusiastic response from customers.
“In addition to new products, our strategy calls for the expansion of our business into new niche markets and new geographies, and we are making good headway there as well. We are seeing a steady increase in demand for our products around the globe,” he said.
International sales were affected by the strong dollar, which lowered that segment by approximately $1 million, the company said.
Woods said Astro-Med expects to deliver another year of “strong growth and profitability” while making the “focused investments and improvements necessary to generate increasing returns for our shareholders.”

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