Despite a 1.2% decline in sales, to $51.1 million, in the third quarter ended June 28, productivity gains resulted in a 17% increase in net income, to $4.8 million, at Courier Corp. Operating earnings rose 16.3%, to $6.3 million, in Courier's manufacturing division, while profits increased 25%, to $1.2 million, at Dover Publications.
The most encouraging development in Courier's printing operations came in the trade market, where sales increased 14% in the quarter. Company CFO Bob Story said the gain was due to a combination of more reprint work and rising demand for video game books, which offset continued softness in computer and technology titles. Sales in the education market rose 5% in the quarter, led by a 22% increase in sales to the higher education market, while sales to the elhi market were down 19%. Greater demand for four-color textbooks was the major factor in lifting sales to higher education, and Story said that to help meet that growing demand, Courier has bought a new press that will double the printer's four-color capacity when it goes online next spring. And despite the weak elhi results, Courier chairman Jim Conway said there were signs of improvement, as some states began to release textbook funding in June. Sales to the religion market fell 10% in the quarter because of the decision by many publishers to reduce the number of titles they publish.
At Dover, company executives were encouraged by sales to the chains, which rose 8% in the period, after significant declines in the previous two quarters. International sales, which had also been sluggish in the first half of the fiscal year, showed significant improvement in the third quarter, rising 46%. Sales in Canada were particularly strong and sales in the U.K. benefited from the launch of DoverDirect.co.uk and SalesPartner-UK, a new business-to-business Web site and trade marketing program, respectively, targeting British retailers. Dover has also increased the number of titles it is publishing, and that trend will continue in the fall when the publisher's catalogue will feature 330 titles, up from 280 last fall. Among the new series it will release is Dover Giant Thrift Editions, long classics priced at $5 each.
For the first nine months of the year, total sales at Courier rose 2.1%, to $148.5 million, and net income was up 36.5%, to $13.1 million.
