Hauppauge, N.Y. –
Voxx International reported higher sales but lower net income for its fiscal fourth
quarter, ended Feb. 28.
Fourth-quarter
sales rose 27.1 percent to $176.6 million, with operating income rising 182
percent to $13.8 million. Fourth-quarter net income fell 37.4 percent to $10.9
million from the year-ago $17.4 million.
However in its
fiscal 2012 Voxx said sales rose 25.9 percent to $701.1 million, operating
income rose 387 percent to $43.9 million, and net income rose 11.4 percent to
$25.6 million. That number included a $13.2 million tax expense, compared with
a 2011 $10.5 million tax benefit. The Klipsch Group generated around $169.5
million in fiscal year sales, up by an unspecified amount. Klipsch was acquired
on March 1, 2011.
In fiscal 2012, Voxx
said it posted continued growth in its mobile electronics OEM business and that
Klipsch Group sales rose and met projections. Also in 2012, said president/CEO Pat
Lavelle, “We shifted our product mix towards higher margin growth categories,
strengthened our international footprint and are in the process of better
aligning our organization to realize additional synergies, both sales and
expense driven, over the coming years.”
In breaking out
fourth-quarter sales, Voxx said electronics sales rose 32.3 percent to $136
million and accessory sales rose 12.5 percent to $40.6 million, thanks to higher
sales of mobile electronics products in select product categories, continued
growth in the company’s international operations, and the addition of Klipsch
sales. The gains were partially offset by lower sales in the company’s consumer
business and declines in mobile audio fulfillment sales.
As a percentage of
fourth-quarter net sales, electronics and accessories accounted for 77 percent
and 23 percent of the net sales in the quarter, up from a year-ago 74 percent and
26 percent, respectively. The quarter’s gross margin was 31.5 percent, up from
a year-ago 25.1 percent.
In breaking out
fiscal year sales, Voxx said electronics sales rose 35.1 percent to $561
million. Accessory sales were $146.1 million, down 0.3 percent. The company said
it enjoyed increases in its OEM mobile electronics segment, both domestically
and abroad, and higher sales across most of its international segments.
Offsetting these gains were declines in the company’s consumer business and in
mobile audio, primarily satellite-radio fulfillment sales. As a percentage of
net sales, electronics and accessories represented 79.3 percent and 20.7
percent of net sales, respectively, for the full year.
Full-year gross
margin rose to 28.7 percent from the prior year’s 22.1 percent because of a
shift in product mix geared towards high-end premium audio and OEM mobile
electronics products, as well as better margins in most of the company’s
product lines, both domestically and abroad, the company said. Lower sales in
the company’s fulfillment and consumer businesses also helped boost margins,
the company added.
In fiscal 2013,
Lavelle said sales would grow to around $900 million because “many of our core
product lines are expected to grow organically this year, and we see increased
potential in the second half of the year backed by new product introductions
and new OEM programs.” He also said the company continues to monitor “a number
of product lines” and might de-emphasize some of our lower margin product
categories, consistent with our strategy.”