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NOGALES, ARIZONA - May 9, 2007 -- Alpha Pro Tech (AMEX:
APT; CHX:APT),a leading manufacturer of products designed to protect
people, products and environments, including disposable protective apparel and
building products, today announced its financial results for the first quarter
ended March 31, 2007.
Consolidated sales for the first quarter ended March 31, 2007 increased 13.5% to
$9.0 million from $8.0 million in the comparable 2006 quarter. The increase was
primarily due to increased sales of the Disposable Protective Apparel and
Infection Control segments, partially offset by a decrease in the Engineered
Products segment. Sales for the Disposable Protective Apparel segment for the
quarter increased 32.1% to $5.4 million compared to $4.1 million for the same
period of 2006 which was negatively impacted by a slowdown in orders related to
the Company’s largest distributor, reducing overall internal inventory levels.
The increase is attributable to the efforts to ramp up sales through various
cleanroom distributors and to a much lesser extent to the sales increase of the
Company’s largest distributor. Management expects continued acceleration
throughout 2007 due to market acceptance of the Company’s new ComforTech® line
of products and previously announced expansions to the distribution network.
Infection Control segment sales for the quarter increased 19.5% to $2.0 million
compared to $1.7 million for the same period of 2006. Shield sales in this
segment increased by $585,000 due to a large, non-recurring order and mask
sales were down by $257,000 due to lower demand for the Company’s N-95 NIOSH
approved respirator mask as concerns about Avian Flu have begun to subside.
Engineered Products segment sales for the quarter decreased by 26.2% to $1.3
million compared to $1.8 million for the same period of 2006. The Engineered
Products segment decrease is a result of a change in distribution channel
strategy in which we decided to move forward on a non-exclusive basis with our
distributor, which led them to source product from other suppliers and to
discontinue purchasing from us.
Al Millar, President of Alpha Pro Tech commented, “As expected, the change in
our distribution strategy for our Engineered Products segment created a
significant, but we believe short-lived, impact in our financial results. As we
pursue a more broad and comprehensive distribution strategy, we believe we can
expand our market share and grow revenues in this important segment. While we
adjust our distribution strategy, our other growth segments continue to expand,
enabling us to increase our consolidated revenues and maintain consistent
profitability. We remain well-positioned from a strategic standpoint, with a
comprehensive line of innovative products designed to protect people and
environments, and this platform will help us to absorb short-term issues with
individual products, segments or distributors to maintain our growth trajectory
and profitability. Our game plan continues to be overall growth for the Company
of at least 20% in 2007.”
Gross profit increased by 14.4% to $4.2 million for the quarter, or 46.0% gross
profit margin, from $3.6 million, or 45.7% gross profit margin, for the same
period in 2006. Gross profit margin on the Engineered Products segment improved
in the first quarter of 2007 as compared to the same period of 2006. Although
the gross profit margin in the Engineered Products segment is considerably
lower than the overall company margin, management expects continual improvement
in 2007 as leverage is realized from further revenue growth.
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by 29.1% to $3.2 million
for the quarter from $2.5 million for the same quarter last year. Although
expenses increased 29.1% compared to the first quarter of 2006, they only
increased 4.3% sequentially compared to the fourth quarter of 2006. A
significant portion of the increase is related to the Engineered Products
segment, with the creation of a marketing campaign designed to launch our new
line of synthetic roof underlayment and house wrap, under the names of REX
SynFelt™ and REX Wrap™, attendance at tradeshows, increased employee
compensation and additional travel expenses related to our increased sales
team.
Income from operations decreased 20.1%, to $826,000 for the quarter as compared
to $1.0 million for the first quarter last year. The provision for income taxes
for the quarter was $332,000 compared to $381,000 for the quarter ended March
31, 2006, resulting in an effective tax rate of 38.3% which is higher this year
due to the amortization of share based compensation.
Net income for the quarter was $535,000 compared to net income of $649,000 for
the quarter ended March 31, 2006. Basic and diluted income per share for the
quarter was $0.02, based on 25.8 million fully diluted shares, compared to
basic and fully diluted earnings per share of $0.03, based on 25.0 million
fully diluted shares, for the first quarter last year.
Mr. Millar added, “The introduction of our REX SynFelt™ and REX Wrap™ products
significantly augments the competitive position of our Engineered Products
segment, and we are expect the performance of this segment will improve each
quarter for the rest of the year with the second half of the year showing
marked improvement. The adjustments we made in the distribution of these
products, which will ultimately expand our market opportunity, resulted in
higher expenses and a dip in revenues in the near term, but we are well on our
way to restoring our positive trends.”
The balance sheet continued to remain strong with a current ratio of 11.48 to 1
on March 31, 2007. The Company completed the quarter with cash and cash
equivalents of $1.1 million and working capital of $21.0 million. Inventories
during the quarter totaled $14.8 million and were up 16.3% compared to
inventories as of December 31, 2006. The increase is primarily attributable to
an increase of $1.4 million for the Disposable Apparel and an increase of
$600,000 in inventory for the Engineered Product segment. Inventory for the
Engineered Product segment are high based on present sales levels, and
management expects these levels to be reduced beginning in the third quarter of
2007. The Company currently has no outstanding debt and maintains an unused
$3.5 million credit facility.
Lloyd Hoffman, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President commented, “We
increased our inventory levels to meet current and expected increased demand
for our Apparel products. We expect inventory levels for the Engineered
Products segment to decrease during the second half of 2007.”
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