Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Creative Tops’ new US owner, Lifetime Brands, says it is proud of its achievements in 2011 despite failing to deliver an improvement in its financial results for the year.
In the 12 months to December 31, 2011, consolidated net sales at the company – a global provider of food prep and tabletop products – nudged up 0.3% to $444.4m over 2010, but net income fell to $14.1m as compared to $20.3m the previous year. Adjusted net income was $14.5m as compared to $14.6m in 2010.
Consolidated EBITDA for the year was $38.1m, down from $42.9m the previous year. And the company’s fourth-quarter results showed a similar downward trend. In the last three months of the year, consolidated net sales dropped 3.5% to $137.6m from $142.6m and net income was down to $5.4m as compared to $13.9m in the prior-year period. Adjusted net income was $6.5m in the fourth quarter, down from $7.9m for the same 2010 period.
Consolidated EBITDA for the three-month period fell to $14.3m from $17.5m in 2010.
However, Creative Tops contributed $6.7m in net sales in the fourth quarter. Lifetime Brands acquired the UK supplier of private-label and branded tableware and kitchenware products in November.
Lifetime CEO Jeffrey Siegel said he was proud of Lifetime’s achievements in 2011 “despite the company’s financial results trailing those of the prior year.
“Our US wholesale kitchenware and tabletop businesses, which together account for approximately 80% of the company’s consolidated net sales, achieved solid, profitable growth. Net wholesale sales of kitchenware products increased by $7.2m to $215.7m, a gain of 3.5%, over the prior year, and net wholesale sales of tabletop products inclusive of Creative Tops sales grew $17.9m to $141.3m, an increase of 14.5%.
“As overall consumer demand in these categories in the US remained flat throughout the year, these increases came primarily from new product introductions and market share gains.”
He went on: “Consumer demand for non-essential categories, especially home decor, declined in 2011, as low- and middle-income consumers had little left over after spending on food, clothing, gasoline and other necessities. This affected our other wholesale businesses – those other than kitchenware and tabletop – whose net sales declined to $64.1m from $81.9m in 2010. We expect consumer demand for these discretionary categories to revive as the US economy picks up steam in 2012.”
Lifetime Brands markets its products under a host of well-known kitchenware brands that include KitchenAid and Cuisinart along with Creative Tops and Royal Botanic Gardens Kew.
