Acme United Clocks 6% Sales Decline In Q2, Actively Evaluating Potential Acquisitions

Acme United Corporation ACU reported a second-quarter FY23 net revenue decline of 6% year-on-year to $53.336 million, missing the analyst consensus of $58.480 million.

EPS of $0.96 beat the analyst consensus of $0.52.

While first aid and medical product sales were strong, lower sales of school and office products were negatively impacted by customer inventory reductions.

Sales in the U.S. segment decreased by 8% Y/Y. Net sales in Canada increased by 13% in U.S. dollars, mainly due to higher sales of first aid products.

European net sales decreased 6% in U.S. dollars, mainly due to the economic recession in Europe.

Gross margin expanded to 37.5% for the quarter from 32.7% last year. The company attributed the 4.8 percentage points improvement to successfully implementing its $5.0 million productivity plan for 2023, lower container costs, and other inbound shipping expenses.

Cash and equivalents amounted to $3.40 million as of June 30, 2023.

"As a result of strong earnings and lower inventory, we were able to reduce our bank debt less cash by $12.3 million during the past 12 months, said Chairman and CEO Walter C. Johnsen. "We continue to actively evaluate potential acquisitions."

Price Action: ACU shares are trading higher by 7.16% at $26.79 on the last check Friday.