Direct Marketing Business Down 4% at Aramark
Philadelphia-based Aramark Corp. (NYSE: RMK) reported higher second-quarter profits due to an improved margin and a sharp upswing in international business. Net income increased 11%, to $71.4 million. Quarterly sales increased 8% to $2.79 billion.
Sales from its direct-marketing business, which includes the Galls public-safety catalog, workwear mailer Wearguard, and Crest Uniform Heathcare , fell 4%, to $100.2 million. Nonetheless, operating income for the segment increased 8%, to $2.6 million.
PC Mall Posts 2Q Loss
Torrance CA-based computer reseller PC Mall (Nasdaq: MALL) increased its second-quarter sales 9%, to $253.2 million from $231.6 million last year. But that wasn’t enough to prevent a net loss of $1.1 million for the quarter. For the comparable period of last year, PC Mall had posted net income of $707,000.
The company’s commercial sales increased 5%, and government sales grew 4%. But sales to consumers declined 12% because of unprofitable advertising and promotions.
Sportsman’s Guide Bolsters Bottom Line
Thanks in large part to its June 2004 acquisition of Golf Warehouse, South St. Paul, MN-based The Sportsman’s Guide (Nasdaq: SGDE) is in full swing financially.
Net sales for the second quarter increased a whopping 61%, to $63.8 million. In addition to the boost from Golf Warehouse, the company benefited from a 9% net sales increase at its core brand due to higher Internet sales.
Net earnings for the quarter more than doubled, to $2.5 million from $1.2 million last year.
ECost.com Posts 6% Sales Growth in First Post-Spinoff Quarter
Torrance, CA-based online discounter eCost.com (Nasdaq: ECST) reported net sales of $41.0 million for its first quarter as a publicly traded company. announced financial results for its second quarter ended June 30. The company spun off from computer reseller PC Mall in April.
Net sales increased 6% from $38.8 million for the second quarter of 2004. Pretax losses for the quarter just ended were $2.9 million compared with pretax profit of $8,000 the previous second quarter. The loss was largely due to additional operating costs and increased public company costs related to the spin-off.