Boca Raton, FL, January 12--Q.E.P. Co., Inc. reported net income in the fiscal 2005 third quarter that increased 14.1 percent to $1.2 million, or $0.33 per diluted share compared with approximately $1.1 million, or $0.30 per diluted share in the fiscal 2004 third quarter
Net sales for the quarter were of $43.2 million compared with $36.6 million for the corresponding period last fiscal year. The sales, which were a quarterly record high were also the 13th consecutive quarter of year-over-year increases in sales.
Acquisitions and changes in foreign currency accounted for $4.7 million and $742,000 of the increase, respectively.
Sales for the company’s subsidiaries outside North America accounted for 27.5 percent of sales in the third quarter of fiscal 2005 compared to 18.5 percent of sales in the fiscal 2004 third quarter.
Lewis Gould, Q.E.P.’s chairman and chief executive officer, stated: "We are pleased with our top-line growth in the third quarter and for the nine months. While we were able to soften some of the substantial increases in raw material prices that affected our gross margin, we also worked closely with our customers to, wherever possible, raise prices. As a result, barring any unforeseen negative event, we remain confident that our fiscal 2005 earnings will be in the upper end of the range between $1.27 and $1.30 per diluted share."
