Milwaukee-based Brady Corp. today reported fiscal third quarter net earnings of $24.1 million, or 39 cents per share, up from $4.2 million, or 42 cents per share, in the third quarter of 2013.
Net sales were $309.6 million, up from $302.5 million in the same period a year ago.
The global company, which manufactures identification and safety products including high-performance labels and printers, attributed the gains to 2.5 percent organic revenue growth and a repurchase of about 893,000 shares in the third quarter totaling $23.3 million.
“We were encouraged by our revenue growth in the third quarter, said Thomas Felmer, Brady’s interim president and chief executive officer, who also serves as chief financial officer. “We believe that our investments to drive organic growth are paying off as organic sales grew 2.5 percent this quarter. Organic sales were up 4.8 percent in Identification Solutions and down 1.9 percent in Workplace Safety this quarter. This 1.9 percent decline in our Workplace Safety business is a much smaller rate of decline compared to previous quarters as we continue to add new customers, increase revenues over the internet and have recently returned our catalog advertising to historical levels. “Our strong balance sheet enabled us to repurchase approximately 893,000 shares of Brady’s stock at an average price of $26.14 per share during the quarter ended April 30, 2014 and on May 1, 2014, we received $53 million of cash as we completed the first phase of our Die-Cut divestiture, closing on the sale of businesses in Germany, Thailand, Korea and Malaysia.”
