Uniroyal Technology Corporation Fourth Quarter Earnings Up Sharply
Reports Profit for Fiscal 1997
SARASOTA, FL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 8, 1997--Uniroyal Technology Corporation (Nasdaq: UTCI - news) today reported that a sharp increase in fourth quarter earnings resulted in a profitable Fiscal 1997. Fourth quarter net income was $1,324,000, or $0.10 per common share, versus a prior-year fourth quarter loss of $9,456,000, or $0.72 per common share. The fourth quarter of Fiscal 1996 included a pre-tax charge of $12,500,000; excluding the charge, the net loss for the fourth quarter of Fiscal 1996 was $1.7 million, or $0.13 per common share.
Income before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) from continuing operations increased 240% to $6.8 million versus $2.0 million in the fourth quarter of the previous year.
Net sales for the fourth quarter ended September 28, 1997, were $55.3 million, an increase of 5% from $52.9 million for the same quarter of the previous year.
Howard R. Curd, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, ''All three of our Business Segments recorded substantially improved earnings for the fourth quarter. We are especially pleased with the growth in high margin products within all our businesses, but particularly in the High Performance Plastics segment.''
The High Performance Plastics segment, the Company's largest business segment, recorded fourth quarter net sales of $31.1 million, an increase of 4% over $30.0 million in sales for the 1996 fourth quarter. Income before interest and income taxes in the fourth quarter for the High Performance Plastics segment increased 179% to $3.1 million versus $1.1 million in the prior year. Unit volume growth in high margin specialty product lines led to the significant improvement in earnings.
Net sales for the Coated Fabric segment increased 9% to 17.6 million in the current fourth quarter versus $16.1 million in sales for the fourth quarter of the previous year. Net sales increases were recorded at both the automotive and Naugahyde(R) divisions. Income before interest and income taxes for the current quarter was up sharply, to $2.0 million, compared to a $1.3 million loss in the prior year, due primarily to improved efficiencies at the automotive division.
Net sales for the Specialty Adhesives segment declined 2% to $6.6 million versus $6.7 million in the previous year, due to the timing of sales of roofing adhesives which were up sharply in the third quarter of the current year. The loss before interest and income taxes for Specialty Adhesives was $24,000 this quarter, a marked improvement over the loss before interest and income taxes of $108,000 in the fourth quarter of Fiscal 1996. Strong sales of mirror mastic adhesives at the recently acquired C. Gunther & Co. and operational efficiencies at the new South Bend facility led to the better performance.
''The strong operational performances of this quarter and the previously reported third quarter are solid evidence that the programs we have instituted in the past two years are leading to greatly improved margins.'' Curd added.
For the fiscal year ended September 28, 1997, net sales from continuing operations were $208.5 million, an increase of 9% versus $192.1 million in the prior year. Reported net sales for the fiscal year ended September 29, 1996, were $209.3 million, which included the net sales of the Ensolite specialty foam division which was sold in Fiscal 1996. Net income for Fiscal 1997 was $379,000, or $0.03 per common share, versus a net loss of $14,401,000, or $1.09 per common share, in Fiscal 1996. Excluding the $12.5 million pre-tax charge and the gain on the sale of Ensolite, the net loss for Fiscal 1996 was $8.1 million, or $0.61 per common share.
Income before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) from continuing operations for Fiscal 1997 increased 138% to $19.7 million versus $8.3 million in Fiscal 1996.
Uniroyal Technology Corporation manufactures and sells proprietary plastic products and specialty chemical and polymer products. The Company has three business segments: High Performance Plastics, Coated Fabrics and Specialty Adhesives. Some of the Company's well-known brand names included ROYALITE(R) in thermoplastics products, POLYCAST(R) in acrylic products, NAUGAHYDE(R) in coated fabrics, and SILAPRENE(R) and GUNTHER ULTRA/BOND(TM) in adhesives. Markets served by the Company's products include mass transportation, automotive, technology, construction, aerospace, athletic and medical. Uniroyal Technology Corporation employs approximately 1,100 people at eleven manufacturing facilities in Indiana, Connecticut, Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Georgia, California and its Corporate Office in Florida. |
