Second quarter bucks trend for United Guardian

The company said that sales for the second quarter were up, from $2.77m to $2.97m, a rise of 7.2 percent, while net income remained almost level, up fractionally from $735,270 to $736,295.

The results mark a significant turn around from the first quarter when sales were down and profits were impacted by rising costs.

Six month sales less rosy​

This meant that sales for the first six months were down from $6.76m to $6.00m, a fall of 11.2 percent, whereas net income for the period was down from $1.89m to $1.57m, a fall of nearly 17 percent.

“Even though second quarter sales were higher this year than last, substantial increases in raw materials, transportation, and energy costs have resulted in earnings for the last two quarters being comparable,”​ said Ken Globus, company president.

Globus added that sales in July had rallied and said that expectations for the rest of 2008 should be more consistent than on the month-to-month basis for 2007.

“We anticipate that sales and earnings for the second half of the year will continue at a higher rate than in 2007,”​ he said.

First quarter flip​

During its first quarter the company had said that ordering patterns and the exceptionally high sales recorded in the corresponding quarter last year were largely responsible for the decrease.

In particular the company enjoyed a record purchasing order in the first quarter of 2007 and implemented an increase in pharmaceutical prices that temporarily boosted sales revenue.

The company said higher energy costs had also played a role in this year's first quarter results forcing it to increase its prices and therefore compromise sales volume.

Most recently in January this year the company increased its prices by around 4 percent in an effort to protect its margins in the high cost environment.