CLEVELAND – Greeting card company American Greetings Corp. said Tuesday that net income in its fiscal third quarter fell 79 percent due to restructuring charges, and the company also suspended its quarterly dividend.
The largest publicly traded U.S. greeting card company said net income for the quarter ended Nov. 30 was $6.6 million dollars, down from $32.0 million a year ago.
Earnings per share were 10 cents, diluted by the impact of its recently issued $175 million in 7 percent notes. The company posted earnings of 50 cents a share a year ago. Sales fell 7.9 percent, to $705.4 million.
Excluding one-time items like the cost of reducing its product line and other factors, earnings were $40.9 million or 54 cents a diluted share. In October, the company said it expected earnings of 49 cents to 54 cents, assuming dilution, with fourth-quarter earnings of 54 cents to 59 cents, also assuming dilution.
The company recently started charging for some electronic greeting cards, which had been free. It said its online unit broke even in the third calendar quarter, will be profitable in the fourth quarter as previously announced, and will be cash-flow positive for the year.
The company also reaffirmed its previously stated basic earnings projections of $1.10 to $1.20 a share, excluding special charges, or 98 cents to $1.08 assuming full dilution.
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