Advanced Marketing Services, which had record sales and earnings for the fiscal year ended March 31, 1999 (News, May 24), reported solid gains for the first quarter of fiscal 2000, which ended July 3, 1999. Revenues rose 35% to $130.8 million, and net income jumped 56% to $2.5 million.
According to AMS president Michael Nicita, the company's growth "spanned existing and new customers, in both domestic and international markets." Nicita noted that the consolidation of its U.K. subsidiaries has gone well and that its Mexican subsidiary had the strongest quarter in its five-year history.
During fiscal 1999, international sales increased 150% to $35.8 million largely owing to the company's March 1998 acquisition of Aura Books; in fiscal 1999 that acquisition pushed sales in the U.K. up to $33.3 million from $11.4 million. In March 1999, AMS increased its presence in the U.K. with its $1.2 million purchase of Metrastock, a specialty books distributor to the garden-center, craft and gift-shop markets. Despite the growth in foreign markets, AMS reported in its 10-K filing with the SEC that it expects no significant profit contribution from its international operations in the current fiscal year; the company also observed that its Mexican subsidiary lost money last year.
On the domestic front, AMS said that in fiscal ˜99 Costco accounted for 40% and Sam's Club for 37% of the wholesaler's revenues; the balance came from office product superstores, computer superstores, mass merchandisers and other specialty retailers. In addition, AMS has begun supplying product on a limited basis to several Internet book retailers.
AMS bought books from 291 publishers last year, compared to 295 publishers in fiscal 1998 and 356 publishers in fiscal 1997. Penguin Putnam accounted for 15% of AMS's total purchases last year, followed by Random House at 14%, Bantam Doubleday Dell at 12%, Simon & Schuster at 11% and Little, Brown at 10%.
