ARMSTRONG, Iowa — Art's Way Mfg. Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: ARTW), a diversified, international manufacturer and distributor of equipment serving agricultural, research, water treatment and steel cutting needs, announced its financial results for the quarter ended Feb. 28, 2015.

Financial Highlights for the Three Months Ended Feb. 28, 2015

  • Revenue increased 16.9% over the same period in 2014.
  • Gross margin improved to 28.2% in the first quarter of 2015 from 21.5% in the same period in 2014.
  • Earnings per share for the first quarter of 2015 increased $0.10 over the same period in 2014.

Sales:  Our consolidated corporate sales for the three-month period ended Feb. 28, 2015 were $7,289,000 compared to $6,237,000 during the same respective period in 2014, a $1,052,000, or 16.9%, increase for the quarter.  The increase in revenue for the three-month period ended Feb. 28, 2015 was primarily due to increases in revenue in our Agricultural Products segment. Consolidated gross profit margin for the three-month period ended Feb. 28, 2015 was 28.2% compared to 21.5% in 2014.

Income:  Consolidated net income was $168,000 for the three-month period ended Feb. 28, 2015, compared to a net loss of $258,000 for the same respective period in 2014.  This increase in income is due to a $641,000 increase in operating income in our agricultural products segment in the first quarter of 2015 compared to the first quarter of 2014, but was offset by operating losses at our Vessels and Scientific divisions. 

Earnings Per Share: Earnings per basic and diluted share for the quarter ended Feb. 28, 2015 were $0.04, an increase of $0.10 over the first quarter of 2014.

Chairman of the Art's Way Board of Directors, J. Ward McConnell Jr., reports, "We are pleased to report another strong quarter in our Agricultural Products segment, despite the sluggish conditions in the global farm economy.  In this same period, our other segments have struggled, but we are optimistic that the next several months will deliver the positive results we have been working toward with our management initiatives for improving our customer focus and cost efficiencies."  

 

For the Three Months Ended
(Consolidated)

  
 

Feb. 28, 2015

Feb. 28, 2014

Change

Sales

$

7,289,000

$

6,237,000

16.9%

Operating Income (Loss)

$

329,000

$

(295,000)

211.5%

Net Income (Loss)

$

168,000

$

(258,000)

165.1%

EPS (Basic)

$

0.04

$

(0.06)

166.7%

EPS (Diluted)

$

0.04

$

(0.06)

166.7%

Weighted Average Shares Outstanding:

          

Basic

  

4,050,507

  

4,046,552

  

Diluted

  

4,051,754

  

4,046,552

  

About Art's Way Mfg. Inc.

Art's Way manufactures and distributes farm machinery niche products including animal feed processing equipment, sugar beet defoliators and harvesters, land maintenance equipment, crop shredding equipment, round hay balers, plows, hay and forage equipment, manure spreaders, reels for combines and swathers and top and bottom drive augers, as well as pressurized tanks and vessels, modular animal confinement buildings and laboratories and specialty tools and inserts. After-market service parts are also an important part of the company's business. The company has four reporting segments: agricultural products; pressurized tanks and vessels; modular buildings; and tools.

SOURCE: Art's Way Manufacturing Co. Inc.