Dell Annual Sales, Income Down
Computer manufacturer/cataloger Dell Computer (Nasdaq: DELL) posted a 7% drop in revenue but a 5% rise in net income for its fiscal fourth quarter. For the three months ended Feb. 1, Austin, TX-based Dell reported net income of $456 million on sales of $8.10 billion. For the same period last year, net income was $434 million on revenue of $8.67 billion. Dell attributed the earnings improvement to a 38% increase in shipments to home customers.
For the fiscal year, however, both revenue and net income fell. Sales dipped 2%, to $31.2 billion from $31.9 billion last year. Net income dropped 23%, to $1.8 billion from $2.3 billion.
Office Depot Quadruples Annual Income Delray Beach, FL-based office supplies superstore chain Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), which also owns cataloger Viking Office Products, suffered a nearly 4% decline in annual revenue. But its net earnings more than quadrupled. For the 52 weeks ended Dec. 31, Office Depot had net earnings of $201.0 million on $11.15 billion in sales. For the 53 weeks of fiscal 2000, net earnings were $49.3 million on sales of $11.57 billion.
Although the company doesn’t break out sales for Viking, it did note that worldwide e-commerce sales for 2001 were $1.6 billion, up 58% from the previous year. Total international sales rose to $1.6 billion from $1.5 billion.
Net Loss at Sport Supply Group Widens Sporting goods cataloger Sport Supply Group, a division of consumer electronics manufacturer/marketer Emerson Radio Corp. (Amex: MSN), reported a 7% decline in revenue for its fiscal third quarter, traditionally its weakest. For the three months ended Dec. 31, sales were $17.0 million, compared with $18.2 million the previous third quarter. The cataloger, which sells to schools, athletic leagues, and youth organizations, blames the decline on the sluggish economy, a decrease in team-sports participation, and its decision to discontinue selling certain low-margin product lines. At the same time, Sport Supply Group’s net loss grew 38%, to $3.6 million from $2.2 million.
Parsippany, NJ-based Emerson’s total net revenue for the quarter fell nearly 12%, to $70.6 million. But net income increased 11%, to $4.1 million.
Nyer Medical in the Black Bangor, ME-based medical holding company Nyer Medical Group (Nasdaq: NYER) reversed its net loss from a year ago and posted a solid sales gain as well. For the quarter ended Dec. 31, the multichannel medical supplies distributor reported net income of $147,469, compared with a net loss of $145,772 for the same period of 2000. Consolidated sales increased 20%, to $13.2 million from $11.0 million. Nyer sells to hospitals, physicians, and nursing homes.
Vermont Teddy Bear Snuggles Up to Sales, Income Boost For the three months ended Dec. 31, The Vermont Teddy Bear Co. (Nasdaq: BEAR) posted net income of $281,000, a 10% rise from $254,000 for the same quarter of 2000. Revenue rose 6%, to $8.4 million from $7.9 million. In addition to its core product line of teddy bears, the Shelburne, VT-based cataloger/retailer mails SendAmerica, a catalog selling gifts made in the U.S.