Brady Corporation posts 4Q loss
Despite a double-digit gain in sales, Brady Corporation posted a loss of $176.2 million for its fiscal 2013 fourth quarter.
That compared to earnings of $20.9 million in the same quarter last year.
Sales were up 14.9 percent to $309.1 million compared to $269.1 million in 4Q of fiscal 2012.
Organic sales were down 2.3 percent, the acquisition of Precision Dynamics Corporation added 16.9 percent to sales, and the impact of foreign currency translation increased sales by 0.3 percent. By segment, organic sales were up 2.1 percent in Identification Solutions and down 8.6 percent in Workplace Safety.
During the quarter, the company recorded charges of $204.4 million related to the write-down of certain long-lived assets in Asia, the write-down of goodwill of the company’s North American Workplace Safety business, and the write down of other intangible assets. Brady also recorded restructuring charges of $15.6 million and non-cash tax charges of $4.0 million related to the funding of the PDC acquisition and the recording of certain tax valuation allowances.
Sales for the full year were up 7.8 percent to $1.15 billion compared to $1.07 billion for 2012. The company recorded a loss of $140.8 million compared to earnings of $102.5 million for 2012.
“Fiscal 2013 was a year of unprecedented change and transformation for Brady. In addition to reorganizing our businesses around global business platforms, we also engaged in a business simplification process that resulted in a structure that brings us closer to our customers and more effectively supports our growth,” said Brady’s president and chief executive officer, Frank M. Jaehnert. “In fiscal 2013, we also made significant changes in our portfolio of companies. We sold several smaller non-core businesses and announced that we are seeking a buyer for our Die-Cut business. At the same time, we completed the acquisition of PDC, which was the largest acquisition in Brady’s nearly 100-year history. PDC is a leader in healthcare identification and gives Brady a strong entrance into the healthcare identification space.
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