RYE, N.Y.-Third-quarter net income for Jarden dropped 15.2 percent to $76.9 million, driven down in part due to a decline in sales for the consumer-products giant.
The bottom line reflected “as reported” figures, which excluded adjustments to net income such as profit from inventory charged to cost of sales, accelerated depreciation, acquisition-related and other costs. Adding on these items for the third quarter of both this year and last year, Jarden’s net totaled $104 million, roughly flat with last year’s third quarter.
Net sales for the quarter, which ended on Sept. 30, were off 4.4 percent to $1.7 billion, including a 2.4 percent falloff in sales from the company’s Consumer Solutions division, which manufactures and markets Jarden’s housewares products. Operating income for Consumer Solutions slipped 3.9 percent as well.
Gross margin gained 40 basis points to finish the quarter at 29.4 percent. Selling, general and administrative expenses were down 1 percent in dollars but increased 66 basis points as a percentage of sales, to 18.9 percent.
James Lillie, Jarden’s CEO, cited the pickup in gross margin as evidence of good times ahead for the manufacturer. “We expect that the healthy momentum across each of our business segments should result in continued strength in fiscal 2013, with growth in line with our stated long-term objectives,” Lillie said.