Earnings out; 29 cents per share.
biz.yahoo.com
Elamex Second Quarter 1997 Sales Rise 9 Percent to $33.8 Million; EPS $0.29
EL PASO, Tex., July 28 -- Elamex S.A. de C.V. (Nasdaq:ELAMF), Mexico's leading contract manufacturer, today announced record sales of $33.8 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 1997, a 9.4 percent rise over sales of $30.9 million in second quarter 1996.
Net income for the quarter was $2.1 million, 5.6 percent over the same period of last year. Earnings per share were $0.29 compared with $0.27 per share the prior year.
Elamex's six months sales totaled $67.6 million, up 20.2 percent from the comparable period in 1996. Earnings per share were up 10% to reach $0.52 for the 26 weeks ended June 29, 1997 as compared to $0.47 on a normalized basis for the first half of 1996.
Hector M. Raynal, Elamex's Chief Executive Officer, said: ``During the first half of 1997 we saw continued demand from existing customers, but we have been anticipating that the demand from some of these existing customers will be reduced. We continue to focus on the addition of new customers and have been successful in establishing new accounts at a higher rate than in prior years. These projects will ramp up during the second half of this year and early next year. Going
forward we expect these new relationships will develop to contribute to Elamex's future growth.''
Elamex's gross margin was 15.6 percent in the second quarter which compares to 17 percent in the second quarter of last year. This margin increased from the 13.1 percent obtained in the first quarter of 1997. ``We have achieved expected EPS, in spite of pressure on our cost structure derived from the combined effect of Mexican inflation and the continued stability of the peso which has placed an additional strain in our operations,'' Mr. Raynal added.
``We remain committed to our growth strategy focused on developing core accounts and making strategic acquisitions to help us accelerate the growth of the Company. Our recent acquisition of the assets of Eurotec, a Mexico based corporation dedicated to plastic molding and metal stamping, is the first step in the implementation of this strategy,'' Mr. Raynal concluded.
Mr. Raynal will conduct a group of conference call at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, July 29. To participate, dial 201-633-1010. The call will also be available on replay after the conclusion of the conference for 24 hours. The number for the replay is: 402-220-9154.
Paul |
