MADISON, Wis.-Spectrum Brands ended its fiscal year on a happy note, transforming losses for the fourth quarter and the year into net income for both periods.
For the fourth quarter ending on Sept. 30, the company reported net income of $5.5 million, compared to a net loss of $33.8 million in last year’s fourth quarter. The fiscal year ended with a $48.6 million profit, as opposed to a loss of $75.2 million for last year.
Fourth-quarter net sales edged up 0.6 percent to $832.6 million, while for the year it increased 2.1 percent to $3.3 billion. In Spectrum’s Global Batteries & Appliances unit, where in are the Remington personal-care product line and the Russell Hobbs group of small electrics, fourth-quarter segment profit rose 0.5 percent while sales slipped 2.2 percent. For the fiscal year, this unit posted a segment-profit gain of 2.3 percent on a flat sales versus last year.
Dave Lumley, Spectrum’s CEO, said the fiscal-year results set a new record for the company and exceeded its guidance for the year “despite extraordinary, negative foreign-currency impacts, challenging global economies, cautious consumer spending and ongoing commodity and Asian supply-chain cost increases.” Lumley added that the 2012 performance “gives us strong momentum as we focus on delivering another year of steady, measured improvement in fiscal 2013.”