Apogee Enterprises Inc. reported a 26% drop in profit for the first quarter of its 2010 fiscal year, in line with analysts“ expectations, as higher unemployment and soft retail markets affected marke…
Apogee Enterprises Inc. reported a 26% drop in profit for the first quarter of its 2010 fiscal year, in line with analysts“ expectations, as higher unemployment and soft retail markets affected market conditions. The US company reported net income of USD 7.5 million, or 27 cents per share, in the quarter ended 30 May 2009, compared with USD 10.2 million, or 36 cents per share, in the first quarter of fiscal 2009. Sales dropped 24%, to USD 180.9 million from USD 238.5 in same period of 2008. Apogee“s chairman and chief executive officer, Russell Huffer, said the company is generating cash and managing costs and productivity, but the inability to fully leverage fixed costs over lower volume affected the operating margins of its architectural and large-scale optical segment. “It is positive that we experienced a relatively flat architectural segment backlog compared to the previous quarter and minimal cancellations,” Huffer said in a statement. Huffer said the company expects continued profitability on revenues to be down at least 15%. The Board of Directors of Apogee declared a quarterly cash dividend of USD 0.0815 per share, payable on 29 July 2009 to shareholders of record on 14 July 2009. The company has about 27.9 million outstanding shares. Apogee Enterprises, Inc., is headquartered in Minneapolis and is a leader in technologies involving the design and development of value-added glass products and services.