Highlights:
POSITIVES:
Net sales increased 26 percent compared with same period last year.
Operating income ( 3 months) improved 35.9 percent compared with the same period a year ago.
Net income improved 21.5 percent for the corresponding quarter last year. This was the largest quarter, in terms of revenues, in the company's history.
For the nine months ended March 31, 1998, net sales improved 14.6 percent
Operating income (9 months) increased 27.3 percent over the comparable period a year ago.
Net income rose 38.2 percent in the corresponding 1997 nine-month period.
The company reported domestic sales of $17,891,510 for the first nine months, vs. $15,875,695 in the prior-year nine-month period.
International sales increased to $4,078,191 compared with $3,303,379, or 17.2 percent of total sales, for the same year-ago period.
The Cook Bates acquisition will grow adding approximately $20 million in new revenue, and will contribute positively to earnings going forward.
The company's operating margins improved to 10.9 percent of net sales during the quarter, compared with 10.1 percent in the corresponding quarter in the prior year.
Gross margins improved to 35.7 percent for the 1998 third quarter, vs. 35.2 percent in the same quarter the year before due to Pacer's continued vertical integration program.
Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased slightly to 24.8 percent of sales for the three-month period, down from the 25.1 percent reported during the same quarter a year ago.
The company's financial position remains strong. At March 31, 1998, Pacer reported total assets of $23,535,659, stockholders' equity of $10,188,040, long-term debt of $7,979,000 and working capital of $12,445,226.
NEGATIVES:
Income taxes for the quarter climbed to $333,498 from $248,831 year over year.
The company reported interest expense of 1.7 percent of sales compared with 1 percent of sales during the same quarter the prior year. |
