Business
Matthews International Reports Results for Fiscal 2020 First Quarter
First Quarter Financial Highlights: Results in line with expectationsCompany maintains outlook for Fiscal 2020Focus cash flow on debt reduction for remainder
About this update from Matthews International Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"First Quarter Financial Highlights:\n Results in line with expectationsCompany maintains outlook for Fiscal 2020Focus cash flow on debt reduction for remainder of fiscal yearCost reduction initiatives progressing well PITTSBURGH, Jan. 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Matthews International Corporation (NASDAQ GSM: MATW) today announced financial results for its first quarter of fiscal 2020. In discussing the Company’s results for the quarter, Joseph C. Bartolacci, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated: “Our consolidated results for the fiscal 2020 first quarter were in line with our expectations. The Memorialization segment reported another quarter of solid performance, generating higher sales compared to the same quarter last year. Sales also increased in our Industrial Technologies segment reflecting organic growth in product identification sales. “In addition, sales for the SGK Brand Solutions segment in the U.S. and Asia-Pacific markets exceeded our expectations for the quarter, which partially mitigated continued slowness in its European markets. European sales were unfavorably impacted by lower cylinder sales to the tobacco markets, much of which was anticipated, and challenging market conditions for our surfaces business. The fiscal 2020 first quarter was also the last quarter reflecting the year-over-year comparability impact of the significant U.S. client account loss a year ago. “Cremation equipment sales were higher than a year ago, particularly in the U.K. and our backlog in the U.S. market continues to be strong. In addition, in our Industrial Technologies segment, we are encouraged by an improving market for our product identification equipment and consumables from a challenging fiscal 2019 and the segment’s backlog for warehouse automation sales has also increased. “Our cost reduction program is progressing well. While GAAP results for the fiscal 2020 first quarter reflected significant investment in this program, we are confident in the projected returns of at least $25 million in annual cost savings within two years.” First Quarter Fiscal 2020 Consolidated Results (Unaudited) ($ in millions, except per share data)Q1 FY2020 Q1 FY2019 Change % ChangeSales$364.9 $374.2 $(9.3) (2.5)%Net (loss) income attributable to Matthews$(10.5) $3.1 $(13.6) (437.9)%Diluted (loss) earnings per share$(0.34) $0.10 $(0.44) (440....