Financial Reports: PC Mall, J. Jill, School Specialty, Collegiate Pacific

PC Mall Ends Year on a High Note

Torrance, CA-based computer reseller PC Mall ended 2003 with a 13% rise in annual sales, to $975.6 million from $862.8 million in 2002. What’s more, net income soared, to $3.0 million from $148,000 the previous year.

Fourth-quarter sales increased 23%, to $289.9 million from $236.3 million the previous year. Within the government-sales subsidiary, PC Mall Gov, revenue increased 67%. Conversely, catalog sales fell 18% for the quarter. Net income fell as well, to $1.1 million from $5.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2002.

Net Income Tumbles at J. Jill
Despite a modest growth in quarterly and annual sales, Quincy, MA-based women’s apparel cataloger/retailer J. Jill Group (Nasdaq: JILL) posted declines in net income for the quarter and year ended Dec. 27.

Fourth-quarter net sales increased 7%, to $114.9 million from $107.9 million in 2002. Catalog sales fell 21%, to $33.6 million. Net income, meanwhile, slid 48%, to $3.2 million from $6.2 million.

For the year, sales were $376.9 million, up 8% from $347.6 million for 2002. Catalog sales fell 15%, to $131.2 million from $154.5 million. Net income tumbled 62%, to $7.2 million from $18.9 million.

Operational Improvements Add to School Specialty Loss
Costs related to projects designed to improve customer service and efficiency widened the quarterly loss at School Specialty (Nasdaq: SCHS). For the three months ended Jan. 24, the Greenville, WI-based educational products cataloger lost $10.1 million on sales of $106.6 million. For the comparable quarter of last year, School Specialty had lost $8.5 million on sales of $110.6 million. The company’s catalogs include Childcraft, Sax Arts and Crafts,and Sportime.

Collegiate Pacific Cuts Loss, Buys Distributor
Dallas-based Collegiate Pacific (Amex:BOO), a manufacturer/marketer of sporting goods, reported a 21% rise in sales for its fiscal second quarter. The company also reduced its net loss 21%. For the three months ended Dec. 31, Collegiate Pacific lost $203,224 on sales of $4.2 million.

The company, which sells to schools and teams, also agreed to acquire Kesslers Team Sports, a Richmond, IN-based sports-uniforms marketer with annual sales of more than $30 million. Kesslers has a 65-man sales force operating in eight states in the Midwest and the Southeast. The deal is expected to close next month.