At Midway Point, Courier Poised for Record Year

by Jim Milliot, PW Daily -- Publishers Weekly, 4/20/2007

With both its publishing and printing divisions turning in solid gains for the six month period ended March 27, Courier Corp. is headed for a record year, the company announced. Aided by $14.1 million in revenue from Creative Homeowner, which it acquired last year, revenue in the publishing segment jumped 65% in the first six months, to $34.9 million, while strong gains in the education segment led to a 13% revenue increase in the printing segment, to $110.4 million. Net income for the entire company was up 7.9% for the first half, to $9.6 million, with sales rising 22%,to $140.6 million.

In the printing segment, sales to the education market rose 24% in the second quarter, driven by increasing demand for four-color textbooks. For the first six months of the fiscal year, education sales were up 15%. Sales to the religious market were up 22% in the second quarter, due partly to order-timing issues. For the year to date, religious sales were up 8%. Sales to the trade market were up 29% in the second quarter, and up 20% for the year to date, reflecting share increases across a range of customers and several large one-time orders.

Courier chairman James Conway said the company still expects sales growth of 13% to 16% for fiscal 2007, resulting in total sales of between $304 and $311 million. Earnings per share are projected to increase between 13% and 18%. Conway noted that the company is looking for another acquisition to add to its publishing portfolio. Earlier this year, Courier hired industry veteran Christopher Kuppig as v-p of business development for publishing; one of his mandates is to look for acquisition opportunities.