Boca Raton, FL, July 18, 2006--Q.E.P. Co., today announced financial results for its fiscal 2007 first quarter ended May 31, 2006.
For the quarter the company reported net income of $244,000, or $0.06 per diluted share, compared to $770,000, or $0.21 per diluted share, for the first quarter last fiscal year.
For the fiscal 2007 first quarter, net sales increased 8.5 percent to a quarterly record $54.1 million, compared with $49.9 million in the fiscal 2006 first quarter. Increased sales volume in several of the company's product categories including underlayment, adhesives and carpet tools contributed to the first quarter's sales growth.
In addition, the complete integration of the Capitol USA acquisition contributed to higher sales of the Company's adhesive products. Sales outside North America accounted for approximately 22 percent of sales in the fiscal 2007 first quarter.
Lewis Gould, Q.E.P.'s chairman and chief executive officer, stated: "I am pleased with the progress we are making in the integration of Capitol USA, the higher level of business compared with the same period last year, and the sequential financial improvements in cost controls, price increases and profitability. We are slowly making progress, even though our profitability has performed under our expectations for the past six quarters.
"In addition, during the quarter we successfully amended our loan agreement with our lenders and increased sales to home centers by approximately 10 percent from further product penetration. We are pleased with the breadth of our products that answer the needs of the professional and do-it-yourselfer. The sale of these product offerings is positioning the company to increase its market share in our various niche businesses," concluded Gould.
