Business
The Eastern Company Fourth Quarter 2019 Net Sales Increase 21% to $68.7 Million; Fourth Quarter 2019 Earnings Grow 14% to $0.79 Per Share
NAUGATUCK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Eastern Company (“Eastern”) (NASDAQ:EML), an industrial manufacturer of unique engineered solutions serving niche
About this update from Eastern Company (the)
[{"type":"text","content":" NAUGATUCK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nThe Eastern Company (“Eastern”) (NASDAQ:EML), an industrial manufacturer of unique engineered solutions serving niche industrial markets, today announced the results of operations for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2019 ended December 28, 2019.\n\n\nPresident and CEO August Vlak commented, “We brought the year to a strong close and are pleased with Eastern’s accomplishments in 2019. Our acquisition of Big 3 Precision in August 2019 is an important step toward our long-term goal of building a larger and stronger company with a significant presence with key customers. It also made a substantial contribution to our fourth quarter results.\n\n\n“During the fourth quarter, Eastern generated strong sales from new products, including a new hood mount truck mirror, a modular toolbox latching system, and an electronic activated latching system. In total, sales of new products accounted for 5% of our sales growth, and in the Industrial Hardware segment, new products represented 15% of growth in the fourth quarter of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018. Increasingly, new products are driving our sales growth and should help us offset challenges facing certain end markets in 2020, including Class 8 truck and recreational vehicles.\n\n\nMr. Vlak continued, “Cash flow from operations was exceptionally strong for both the quarter and the year. In fiscal 2019, we generated $23.0 million in cash flow, a 78% increase compared to fiscal 2018. Eastern’s strong balance sheet, as well as our focus on working capital reduction, position us well to pursue our strategy of bolt-on acquisitions that strengthen our company’s best businesses.\n\n\n“Despite ongoing uncertainty in the macro-environment, we are confident that we can deliver on our plan and achieve our goals. Our backlog is robust, totaling $72.2 million at the end of fiscal 2019. The growth in fiscal 2019 reflects both our acquisition of Big 3 Precision and a strong flow of orders at Eberhard Manufacturing. Certain of our businesses are experiencing supply chain disruption in China as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19), but, at this time, local conditions appear to be improving.”\n\n\nFourth Quarter 2019 Financial Results\n\n\nNet sales in the fourth quarter of 2019 increased 21% to $68.7 million from $56.6 million a year earlier, primari...