Business forms and supplies mailer New England Business Service (NEBS) (NYSE: NEB) cut its revenue expectations for the fiscal year ending June 29, 2002, to $550 million-$560 million. For fiscal year 2001, NEBS recorded revenue of $586 million. The Groton, MA-based cataloger expects fiscal 2002 earnings per share, before restructuring-related charges, to be $1.90-$2.00, comparable to fiscal 2001’s $1.98 per share before restructuring charges.
NEBS blamed the recession for weaker-than-expected business, particularly in sales of holiday cards. Decreased promotional spending by businesses also hurt NEBS’s apparel segment.
For the quarter ended in December, NEBS projects revenue of about $155 million and earnings per share of $0.73-$0.77 before restructuring charges, compared with revenue of $166 million and earnings per share before restructuring-related charges of $0.69 for the comparable quarter of 2000.