Bandag Inc. reported consolidated net income of $20 million on consolidated net sales of $211.4 million for the third quarter 2003. That compares to income of $19.6 million on sales of $245.9 million for the same period last year.
"Overall, third-quarter net income showed improvement compared to the first six months of the year," says Martin Carver, Bandag's chairman and CEO. "Although the North America business unit volume was 4% below the previous year, the U.S. economy appears to be improving, and we are cautiously optimistic we will begin to see sustainable sales improvement at the business unit level in the months ahead.
"Unit volumes in the international markets experienced greater declines due in large part to difficult business climates in those areas."
For the first nine months, Bandag posted consolidated net income of $31.1 million on consolidated net sales of $590.7 million. That compares to a net loss of $14.7 million for the first nine months of last year, a loss that included the write-off of $47.3 million in goodwill related to the adoption of SFAS 142. Net sales were down 12%.
Bandag's Tire Distribution Systems Inc. (TDS) subsidiary posted lower sales for the third quarter than the same period a year ago, primarily due to divestitures and closures the last two years.
"TDS' results were gratifying, with improvement in both sales and operating margins after eliminating sales affected by divestitures and closings," says Carver. "We are pleased that our independent dealers who acquired TDS locations are having successes integrating those operations into their businesses."
