General Binding Corporation says its results for the fourth quarter and full year 2003 reflect both stable revenues and improvements in operating income and debt levels due to the ongoing success of its Operational Excellence programme.
Sales in the fourth quarter were $182.2 million, up 1.7% on the previous year. Gross profit margin was 39.8%, roughly flat on the previous quarter and down slightly on last year. For the full year sales were $697.9 million, down 0.5% on 2002. Gross profit margin was up by 0.2 points to 39.9%. It recorded a net loss of $0.20 per share for the year, compared with a net loss of $5.04 per share in 2002. Reduction in net debt for 2003 was $30.7 million.
Dennis Martin, GBC’s chairman, president and CEO, comments: "GBC posted another fairly solid year in 2003. The weak sales environment throughout most of 2003 showed some signs of improvement in the fourth quarter. Despite challenging market conditions in 2003, we continue to manage the controllable areas of our business. Through the Operational Excellence initiatives we have implemented, we improved operating income for both the fourth quarter and full year."
He continues: "Looking ahead, our primary challenge is to continue to identify and capitalise on growth opportunities and to continue building a stronger, more profitable company. While the top line is not yet as robust as we would like to see it, the combination of newly launched innovative products, continued efforts to expand into new markets, and less volatile market demand give us some optimism for 2004's revenue potential."
19-Feb-2004
