Courier Corp. Reports Loss for Fiscal 2009
By Jim Milliot -- Publishers Weekly, 11/5/2009 7:55:00 AM
With sales down in both its publishing and printing businesses, Courier Corp. reported an 11.1% decline in revenue for the fiscal year ended September 26, with sales falling to $248.8 million. The company had a net loss of $3.1 million in fiscal 2009 compared to a loss of $370,000 in fiscal 2008. Results in both years had one-time charges, including $4.8 million in restructuring costs in the last year during which Courier reduced its total workforce by 12%.
Courier chairman James Conway is looking for only modest improvement in fiscal 2010. “While we are encouraged by positive indicators in some areas of the economy, we have yet to see them in our own,” said Conway in a statement. “Consumers and retailers are still skittish, which affects all of our publishing businesses as well as many of our book manufacturing customers. School budgets will be hard pressed to grow in the near term, the environment for charitable donations remains uncertain at best, and pricing pressure everywhere is intense.” Despite the challenging conditions, Courier will continue to invest in new technology, Conway said, and will offer customers a “digital print option” in the second part of 2010. Investment in the new equipment will impact earnings which are expected to come in at 70 cents to $1.00 per share in fiscal 2010. Sales are projected to hit between $253 million and $268 million.
Looking back at fiscal 2009, sales in the publishing group fell 24.1%, to $46.8 million, and the unit had a loss of $2.2 million. Courier’s Dover Publications and REA Associates imprints posted a small profit for the year, but Creative Homeowner had a $3.0 million loss. Results at Creative Homeowner include the impact of exiting an unprofitable distribution business. Because of the recession, Conway said the company’s imprints focused on “value-priced titles and emerging market niches.” Successes included Dover’s Sesame Street Activity Books, Creative’s 3-Step Vegetable Gardening and the relaunch by REA of its Advanced Placement Test Prep series.
On the manufacturing side, sales fell 8%, to $212.2 million, and profits declined to $16.4 million from $26.2 million. Sales to the education market fell 9% in the year as an increase in higher education business was more than offset by declines in demand for elhi textbooks as that sector confronts shrinking state budgets. Sales to the religious market were also off 9% in the year, although sales in the specialty trade segment rose 1% led by the addition of new clients and growth in its four-color business.
