Acme United Europe Highlights New School & Office Products at Insights-X Fair
Running at exactly the right time for placing orders for next year’s back-to-school season, the Insights-X fair opened its doors last week at the Exhibition Centre in Nuremberg, Germany.
Spread across an area of 26,000m² (280,000 square feet), 321 exhibitors from 41 countries took advantage of the opportunity to showcase their latest products and innovations. One of those exhibitors was Acme United Corp. (US: ACU – $20.02). Its European team presented plenty of new products to specialist retailers and buyers. Georg Bettin, the Managing Director of Acme United Europe, commented, ”Also this year, Insights-X was a successful event for our Company, as we had lots of interesting meetings with existing and potential customers.”
The team introduced plenty of new items, such as magnets, clip boards, and several metal clips in all shapes and sizes. These items are already available and sold both under the Westcott brand and private label.
The Westcott display at the Insights-X Fair with the assortment of new products (left) and the new Westcott magnets.
Although these aren’t high-priced items, they sell in large quantities. And having them in the assortment makes it more convenient for buyers that already purchase scissors, pencil sharpeners or rulers from Acme United, to also buy these everyday school and office products from the same supplier.
Outstanding Third Quarter Financial Results
Yesterday, Acme United also announced its third quarter financials. Net sales for the three months ended September 30, 2019 were $37.0 million, compared to $34.7 million for the same period of 2018. Net income for the three months ended September 30, 2019 reached $1.1 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, compared to $.8 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, for the same period in 2018, increases of 31% and 30%, respectively. Impressive to say the least!
Chairman and CEO Walter C. Johnsen commented, “We are very pleased with our third quarter sales and earnings. We had excellent performance with our First Aid Only safety products line, driven by success of SmartCompliance kits and refills. International sales both in Europe and Canada were strong. Our on-line business was excellent, reflecting strength in first aid products and back-to-school items.
Acme United is well on track to achieve its ninth consecutive year of record sales. In addition, the Company has reduced its net debt by close to $11 million during the past 12 months. A solid achievement, which provides capital for a potential acquisition.
We will publish an extended report on Acme’s third quarter financials next week.
On to the Next Successful Fair
The Insights-X expo gives visitors the opportunity to forge important business contacts, whilst allowing exhibitors to invest plenty of time in talking to customers.
A total of 5,669 trade visitors from 85 countries found their way to the Exhibition Centre. With 56 percent of exhibitors and 43 percent of visitors travelling to Nuremberg from abroad, the expo has clearly made its mark on the international stage.
Westcott bulldog metal clips, which are also new in the assortment.
Once again, Acme’s European team had a successful event, meeting with customers from all over Europe for the back-to-school season 2020. In addition, plenty of new products were shown to customers for the first time. They will soon be for sale at retailers’ online and brick-and-mortar stores.
Moreover, the European segment will also visit MEDICA in Düsseldorf, Germany next month. As also first aid is becoming more important for Acme United in Europe, it is important to show its available SKUs at this leading international trade fair for the medical industry. Smallcaps recommendation: BUY.
| Smallcaps.us Advice: Buy | Price Target: $59.86 | Latest Company Report (pdf) |
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