Providence, R.I. –
Nortek increased its net sales in the second quarter and first half but posted
lower operating earnings in both periods and net losses for both periods.
The supplier of
residential and commercial ventilation, HVAC and technology products is parent
of multiple residential brands, including Niles Audio, Xantech, Elan, Omnimount, Panamax and SpeakerCraft.
Company-wide sales
rose 11 percent in the second quarter to $564.9 million and by 12 percent in
the first half to $1.05 billion, thanks to recent acquisitions. The quarter’s
sales were up entirely as a result of recent acquisitions, and all but $3.5
million of the $114 million first-half sales gain was due to acquisitions.
Operating earnings
declined 23 percent to $20.8 million in the quarter and by 27.5 percent in the
half to $22.7 million.
The first-quarter net loss hit $31.9 million
compared with a year-ago net profit of $300,000. The first-half net loss
widened to $53 million from the year-ago $13.1 million.
In the company’s tech
segment, consisting mainly of residential products but including products for
select commercial applications, dollar volume and operating earnings were up in
the quarter and half.
For the quarter, tech sales rose 56 percent to
$180.6 million, and operating earnings rose 387 percent to $19 million. For the
half, tech sales rose 61 percent to $337.9 million, and the segment posted
operating earnings of $20.7 million compared to a year-ago operating loss of
$3.5 million.
The results
include recent acquisitions Ergotron and TV One Broadcast Sales. Ergotron,
acquired last December, supplies mounting and mobility products for the health
care, education and office markets. TV One, acquired in April, sells video
processing gear for the professional A/V and broadcast markets.
In other
announcements, the company said it will file with Nasdaq to go public and said
it hired an executive recruiter to find a new CEO following the July 1
retirement of Richard Bready, the former chairman, president and CEO.
Meantime, interim
CEO J. David Smith said Nortek “is well-positioned to take advantage of
opportunities when the business climate improves.”
