Business
School Specialty Announces Fiscal Year 2018 Third Quarter Financial Results
School Specialty Announces Fiscal Year 2018 Third Quarter Financial Results.
About this update from School Speciality Inc
[{"type":"text","content":"\nGREENVILLE, Wis., Nov. 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- School Specialty, Inc. (OTCQB: SCOO) (“School Specialty”, “SSI” or the “Company”), home of the 21st Century Safe School™ and leading provider of products and innovative solutions that support integrated learning environments for improved student social, emotional, mental and physical well-being, today announced financial results for its fiscal 2018 third quarter ended September 29, 2018.\n Joseph M. Yorio, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “Throughout the year, we have focused on generating growth and positioning School Specialty for the future. We continue to make progress, particularly as it relates to the realignment and buildout of our sales team and repositioning our Company as a comprehensive 21st Century Safe School partner. However, we experienced some operational challenges in the third quarter, primarily related to staffing levels to support peak-season needs. From a top-line perspective, we saw modest revenue growth in the quarter and year-to-date revenue is up over 2%. This is very encouraging given the anticipated decline in Curriculum this year due to the lack of statewide science adoptions and fewer large non-adoption opportunities in the market; importantly, we are preparing for what is expected to be very strong Curriculum years ahead. Our efforts to better optimize pricing has contributed to lower gross margins in certain areas, but they have enabled growth and we believe they position us well moving into 2019. We believe we have a real opportunity to improve the mix of products we provide our customers and drive revenue from higher-margin proprietary products.” Mr. Yorio continued, “Our competitive position continues to improve, as evidenced by strong order momentum heading into the peak season. Challenges in our fulfillment centers slowed our momentum, but we have recovered. Growth trends are strengthening once again, and we expect this momentum to carry through into 2019. We are well positioned to take market share and develop deeper, more valued customer relationships. While our results for 2018 will come in lower than expected, we believe School Specialty is poised for a sharp rebound with strong top-line growth and improved profitability in 2019.” Q3...