Brady Corp. (NYSE: BRC), Milwaukee, WI, reported sales for fiscal 2013 ended July 31 of $1.2 billion, an increase of 7.8 percent compared to 2012 results. Brady reported a net loss of $154.5 million for the year, compared to a year-ago loss of $17.9 million.
Sales for the fourth quarter were $309.1 million, an increase of 14.9 percent compared to the same period a year ago. The acquisition of Precision Dynamics Corp. added 16.9 percent to sales; organic sales decreased 2.3 percent. Net loss for the quarter was $177.3 million, compared to a year-ago profit of $11.7 million.
Effective May 1, 2013, the company changed its reporting structure from geographically-based to an organization structured around three global business platforms: identification solutions, workplace safety and die-cut.
“Our identification solutions business will continue to focus on industries such as healthcare, food and beverage, chemical, oil and gas and aerospace and mass transit, as well as expanding into faster-growing geographies such as Central Europe, the Middle East, Africa and selected markets in Asia. We are accelerating investment in our workplace safety business to improve organic sales and profit by building a scalable multi-channel model that all of our global workplace safety businesses will use,” Frank M. Jaehnert, president and CEO, said.
