Brady Corp. (NYSE: BRC), Milwaukee, WI, reported sales for the third quarter ended April 30, 2013, of $305.7 million, an increase of 11 percent compared to the same period a year earlier. Profit fell 84.7 percent to $4.2 million.
Organic sales fell 4.7 percent, acquisitions added 16.8 percent, and the impact of foreign currency translation decreased sales by 1.1 percent. By segment, organic sales decreased 2.9 percent in the Americas, 4.8 percent in EMEA and 11.6 percent in the Asia-Pacific region.
For the first nine months, sales for Brady Corp. were $856.4 million, an increase of 5.3 percent compared to the same period a year earlier. Profit was $22.7 million, compared to a year-ago loss of $29.6 million.
The manufacturer also announced plans to sell its Asia-based Die-Cut business. The business, with sales of $179 million for the year ended July 31, 2012, manufactures gaskets, meshes, heat dissipation materials, antennae, dampers, filters and similar products sold primarily into the electronics industry with a concentration in the mobile-handset and hard-disk drive industries.
Brady’s board of directors adopted a plan of sale for the business in order to focus on its Identification Solutions and Workplace Safety businesses. Brady will continue to operate the business as a going concern and execute its improvement plans while engaged in the divestiture process.
