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[May 2003]
Double-Digit Increase in Sales for American Standard
American Standard Companies Inc (Piscataway, NJ, USA) announced first
quarter earnings of 87 cents per diluted share, up 12% from the first
quarter last year. These earnings are consistent with the company's January
estimate for the quarter of 85-90 cents. Sales were a record US$1.95
billion, up 11% from a year ago. Net income rose to US$63.8 million, up
12%.Ceramic activities fall in the Bath & Kitchen business segment, where sales
in Q1 increased by 16% to US$542.9 million. Segment income was US$35.1
million, down 10% compared with last year. Volume growth, productivity
initiatives and favourable foreign exchange effects softened the impact of
price pressure, unfavourable mix and cost escalations, as well as the impact
of previously reported isolated operating issues and investments in new
products and marketing programmes. Operating margin was 6.5%, down 1.8
percentage points."While Bath and Kitchen's operating margin is disappointing, said Chairman
and CEO Fred Poses, "our investments are producing improved sales growth and
brand positions. These investments, coupled with our improved productivity
and cost-reduction actions, will yield a better product mix and operating
margin in the future."American Standard said that during the quarter it introduced new bathroom
suites and expanded distribution around the world. In the USA, The Standard
Collection continued its strong roll-out and the Sottini 'total bathroom'
brand launched successfully at 450 Lowe's stores. At the ISH fair in Germany,
which attracted more than 180,000 trade and consumer visitors from
92 countries, Bath and Kitchen created a major presence and introduced eight
product lines under the Ideal Standard, JADO and Borma brands. In China, 20
retail dealers renovated or opened new showrooms that exclusively feature
American Standard brands.
ENDS