Sales up, profits down for A. Schulman in 2013

Materials supplier A. Schulman Inc. reported increased sales but diminished profits for its 2013 fiscal year.

For the year ended August 31, Fairlawn, Ohio-based Schulman posted sales of just over US$2.1 billion, a bump of three per cent compared with the prior fiscal year. But profits slipped almost 40 per cent to just under US$33 million.

The Europe/Middle East/Africa region accounted for almost 66 per cent of Schulman’s sales in fiscal 2013, the company said in a statement, with the Americas generating 28 per cent and the remainder coming from the Asia Pacific region. The Americas were the firm’s fastest-growing sales region in fiscal 2013, Schulman also said, with sales up almost eight per cent.

“For the past three years, we’ve executed on our strategies and experienced steady growth despite a stagnant global economy,” Schulman president and CEO Joseph Gingo said in the statement. “I’m disappointed that we did not achieve another consecutive year of adjusted earnings per share growth for the company. Despite our shortfall in the fiscal third quarter, we’re encouraged by a stronger fiscal fourth quarter and believe that our decisive actions have put us back on track toward earnings improvement.”

Among the challenges Schulman had to overcome, Gingo added, was the consolidation of its operations in Brazil. “We are pleased that our new facility in Brazil will be operational at the end of October to better serve the region,” Gingo said.