Financial roundup: School Specialty, Tiffany

Double-digit sales, income growth for School Specialty

Multititle educational supplies marketer School Specialty (Nasdaq: SCHS) enjoyed an 18% rise in sales for its fiscal second quarter. At the same time, net income increased nearly 52%. For the three months ended Oct. 26, the Greenville, WI-based company posted net income of $29.0 million on sales of $317.4 million. For the comparable period of last year, net income was $19.2 million on sales of $269.7 million. School Specialty’s brands include Premier Agenda. Sax Arts & Crafts, and Childcraft.

In other company news, Stephan Christiansen was hired for the newly created position of president, specialty companies. He was previously an executive with Kimberly-Clark Corp. And James Burgraff joined School Specialty as vice president of marketing. He had been senior channel manager, schools for The Coca-Cola Co.

3Q catalog/Web sales up at Tiffany Jewelry and gifts cataloger/retailer Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) posted a 10% rise in third-quarter net sales and a 46% increase in net earnings. For the three months ended Oct. 31, the New York-based marketer reported earnings of $35.2 million on sales of $366.0 million. For the comparable period of last year, income was $24.0 million on sales of $333.1 million.

Sales within the direct marketing division, which includes corporate sales, increased 11%, to $37.3 million. Combined Internet/catalog sales rose 19%, while corporate sales rose 1%.