Business News

American Greetings Announces First Quarter Results

Wednesday 25. June 2008 - American Greetings Corporation (NYSE:AM) today announced its first quarter results for the fiscal quarter ended May 30, 2008.

First Quarter Results

For the first quarter of fiscal 2009, the Company reported total revenue of $428.3 million, pre-tax income from continuing operations of $19.2 million, and income from continuing operations of $13.3 million or 27 cents per share (all per-share amounts assume dilution). For the first quarter of fiscal 2008, the Company reported total revenue of $420.0 million, pre-tax income from continuing operations of $54.6 million, and income from continuing operations of $30.3 million or 54 cents per share.

Management Comments and Outlook

Chief Executive Officer Zev Weiss said, “I am pleased with our revenue performance, particularly given current economic conditions. Our point of sale performance is encouraging. One of the larger components that caused lower margins in the quarter compared to last year was the rollout of a new card line in Canada. As part of that process, we had additional activity and recognized incremental expenses. While the costs associated with the new Canadian card line are transitional in nature, we are focusing additional efforts on redesigning supply chain processes in an effort to become more efficient.”

The Company reaffirmed its previously announced fiscal 2009 estimate of earnings per share from continuing operations to be between $1.60 to $1.85 per share and cash flow from operations minus capital expenditures to be between $60 million and $80 million.