Avery profit jumps, Australia “soft”

 

CCL Industries’ Avery business achieved good operating profit and margin growth in the second quarter of 2024.

 

The Canadian company’s operating profit for the three months ended 20 June was C$60.7 million (US$44 million), a currency-adjusted jump of around 19%. 

 

CCL CEO Geoff Martin attributed the increase to “solid demand” in Avery’s direct-to-consumer badging, and RFID wristband and card units as well as an earlier-than-expected start to the back-to-school season in North America. 

 

Meanwhile, “solid progress” was reported at Avery’s operations in Europe and Latin America, while the horticultural labelling business benefitted from continued segment recovery in the US and Europe.

 

The only blip appeared to be Australia, where the market was described as “soft”.

 

For more on this and other global financial stories from OPI, go to https://www.opi.net/news/region/001-north-america/profit-jumps-at-avery/

 

Pilot Pen international revenue up

Writing instruments manufacturer Pilot Pen has said reported top-line growth in the first half of 2024 was driven by the continued softness of the yen.

 

The Japan-based group reported H1 sales of ¥65.6 billion ($450 million), a year-on-year increase of 6.9%. By product group, writing instruments grew by 6.3% to ¥59.8 billion, while the fledgling non-writing instruments business increased by 13.8% to ¥5.8 billion, buoyed by the addition of stationery brand Mark’s last year and good sales in the toy category.

 

Despite admitting that demand remained weak in “certain developed markets”, international revenue grew by 6.7% to ¥51.2 billion. This included an 8.7% jump in the Americas region to ¥21.2 billion and an improvement of 11.4% in Europe to ¥15.2 billion.

 

ACCO Brands lowers outlook

ACCO Brands has lowered its FY24 sales outlook after Q2 revenue came in lower than previously expected.

 

The vendor had already adjusted its forecast in May, and is now expecting full-year comparable sales to be down 8-9% versus 2023 to between US$1.67-US$1.69 billion. 

 

“With the softer-than-anticipated sales, we are reviewing our cost structure for additional cost reduction opportunities,” stated CEO Tom Tedford in his Q2 earnings commentary.

 

ACCO has already initiated a $60 million cost reduction programme. This is on track to deliver more than US$20 million in savings this year and is helping the company to offset the impact of lower sales. 

 

The ACCO CEO expects declines in many categories to moderate in the second half of the year. Company sales in Q3 are predicted to be down by 5-7% versus last year.

 

ACCO Brands International:

Sales were US$146 million, a comparable decline of 5.1%.

 

As with the Americas, ACCO noted reduced demand for office products, partially offset by growth in computer accessories. Higher pricing was also a tailwind.

 

Items positively affecting the bottom line included moderating product costs and the cumulative benefit of pricing and cost actions. These offset the negative impact of lower sales volumes.

 

BIC sales dragging in US

BIC said the “deteriorating market environment” in the US was a drag on its performance in the first half of 2024.

 

Group sales to customers in North America fell by 11% in the first half of 2024. The vendor’s lighters business was the worst affected, but the Human Expression stationery division was also impacted, particularly in the second quarter.

 

Pricing was a key factor in the division’s 2.3% sales increase in the first six months of 2024 to €452.5 million ($489 million). In the same period, the number of units sold at Human Expression declined by 2.8% to 3.21 billion.

 

Higher selling prices, along with currency fluctuations and lower marketing investments, contributed to Human Expression’s H1 2024 adjusted operating profit margin climbing by 170 basis points to 11.4%. 

 

Below is BIC’s commentary on the results at its Human Expression business for the first half of 2024:

 

In Europe, performance remained strong, with high single-digit growth, further consolidating our market leadership BIC’s iconic 4-Color pen continued to be the main growth driver across Europe. The expansion of our distribution network towards discounters and e-commerce is particularly successful, with more products available in-store and a strong increase in demand for decorated and personalised products. Core products such as ball pens and correction items also contributed to growth.

 

In the US, net sales were impacted by negative market trends. However, these were partially offset by the performance from core products, notably mechanical pencils and ball pens, as well as added value products such as gel pens.