American Greetings announces record second-quarter earnings
American Greetings Corp., Cleveland, Ohio, reported total revenue of $356.4 million, pre-tax income of $34.1 million, and net income of $23.1 million, for the second quarter of fiscal 2010.. Included within these results was a pre-tax benefit from an insurance program of $7.9 million (after tax of approximately $7.6 million). For the second quarter of fiscal 2009, the company reported total revenue of $385.8 million, pre-tax income of $2.4 million, and net income of $2.3 million.
“I believe the changes we have made to our business over the last year are showing up in our results,” says Zev Weiss, CEO. “We have devoted more time and effort to develop new products so that consumers can find unique and fresh offerings in the greeting card aisle. We have expanded our use of technology for both traditional greeting cards as well as on-line applications including Facebook and the iPhone. These examples of leadership in innovation are all in addition to the recent enhancements we have made to our portfolio, specifically the acquisitions of Recycled Paper Greetings and Papyrus, which complement our innovation with leadership in both humor and elegant design.”
In the AG Interactive segment, which includes PhotoWorks, sales in the quarter were $18.075 million, compared to $20.344 million for the same quarter last year. For six months, AG Interactive sales were $36.709 million, compared to $40.233 million last year. Earnings in the segment were improved, however, generating $1.644 million earnings, compared to $456,000 last year in the second quarter. For six months, AG Interactive has earned $3.296 million, compared to a $879,000 loss for the same period last year.
