BARRINGTON, Ill., Aug. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CTI Industries Corporation CTIB ("CTI"), a manufacturer and global marketer of novelty balloons, vacuum and flexible packaging and storage products, printed and laminated films, party goods, Candy Blossoms and home container products, today reported financial results for the second quarter ("Q2 2018") and six months ended June 30, 2018.  

"We are very pleased to be able to report one of the strongest second quarter results in CTI's history," said Stephen Merrick, Chief Executive Officer of CTI.  "The sales momentum that commenced in March of this year continued through June, allowing us to grow Q2 2018 net sales by approximately 25% from Q2 2017. The operational improvement initiatives that we commenced during 2017 resulted in a 17.4% decline in total operating expenses, improved manufacturing efficiencies, and higher production capacity.  The combined effect of higher net sales, a lower cost structure, and an improved manufacturing and production profile allowed us to return to profitability in Q2 2018.  We believe that these results reflect the ongoing transformation at CTI and validate the efforts of our new management team to deliver long-term value to our shareholders."      

Q2 2018 Review

Net sales increased by $3.2 million, or 24.8%, to $16.0 million from $12.8 million in Q2 2017, reflecting higher sales of the Candy Blossoms product line, latex balloons, and vacuum sealing products.  Candy Blossoms had a particularly strong quarter, generating Q2 2018 sales of $2.9 million.  

See table below, in $000s.

Gross profit increased to $3.8 million, or 23.7% of net sales, as compared to gross profit of $3.1 million, or 24.3% of net sales, in Q2 2017. 

Operating expenses, which include general and administrative, selling, and advertising and marketing costs, as well as gains and losses on asset sales, declined to $2.9 million, or 18.4% of net sales, in Q2 2018 from $3.6 million, or 27.9% of net sales, in Q2 2017.  These declines are the direct result of profit improvement actions implemented during 2017 and 2018, offset by cost increases in specific items.

Higher net sales and resulting gross profit, along with lower operating expenses produced operating income of $0.8 million in Q2 2018, compared to an operating loss of $0.5 million in Q2 2017. 

Interest expense, net, rose to $0.5 million in Q2 2018 from $0.4 million in Q2 2017.  Higher interest rates and a larger overall debt position are the primary elements for that increase.   

Net income attributable to CTI was $0.3 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, as compared to a net loss of $0.5 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, in Q2 2017. 

EBITDA for Q2 2018 was $1.2 million as compared to an EBITDA loss of less than $0.1 million in Q2 2017. 

First Six Months 2018 Results Overview

Net sales rose to $30.0 million from $28.2 million in the same period last year.  

Gross profit for the six-month periods ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 was $6.7 million, or 22.2% and 23.9% of sales, respectively.     

Total operating expenses declined to $6.0 million from $6.7 million in the comparable period of 2017. 

Operating income improved to $0.7 million from $0.1 million in the 2017 six-month period.   

Interest expense, net, was $1.1 million, up from $0.7 million in the same period one year ago.

Net loss attributable to CTI was $213,000, or $0.06 per diluted share, as compared to a net loss attributable to CTI of $0.5 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, in the same period one year ago.       

EBITDA was $1.6 million, up from $0.9 million in the 2017 six-month period.

2018 Outlook

While acknowledging that certain challenges and uncertainties remain in its business and industry, for the full year of 2018 CTI expects higher net sales, lower total operating expenses, and profitable operations when compared to 2017.   CTI re-iterated this outlook after taking into account the following factors:  i.) as typically occurs in our business as a result of seasonality, we tend to have lower revenues in Q3 with a strong rebound in Q4; and ii.) we continue to evaluate the impact of recently imposed tariffs to our China-manufactured vacuum sealing and home container products, and are pursuing  actions  which may mitigate their effect on our results.

Conference Call 

Management will host a conference call to discuss Q2 2018 results and other matters on Monday, August 13, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. Central Time / 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time.  Interested parties may participate in the call by dialing:

• 866-619-8760
• and entering the Conference ID code 4287045. 

Participants are advised to dial into the call five to ten minutes prior to the starting time to register.  A replay of the conference call will be available from August 13–20, 2018 by dialing 855-859-2056.  The replay passcode is 4287045.

Non-GAAP Measures

To provide additional information regarding the Company's results, we have disclosed in this press release EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization).  The Company defines EBITDA as earnings (loss) before net interest, other expense, taxes, depreciation and amortization expense. The Company has included EBITDA as a supplemental financial measure in this press release because it is a key measure used by management and the board of directors to understand and evaluate the core operating performance of the Company, to prepare budgets and operating plans, and because management believes such measure provides useful information in understanding and evaluating the Company's operating results.  However, use of EBITDA as an analytic tool has its limitations and you should not consider this measure in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of the Company's financial results as reported under GAAP.  A reconciliation to the closest GAAP statement of this non-GAAP measure is contained in the accompanying tables.

About CTI

CTI Industries Corporation is one of the leading manufacturers and marketers of foil and latex balloons, develops, produces and markets vacuum sealing systems for household use and produces laminated and printed films for commercial uses.  CTI also distributes products for home organization and storage, Candy Blossoms and other gift items and, in Mexico, party goods.  CTI markets its products throughout the United States and in a number of other countries.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements made in this release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking" statements (within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time.  These "forward-looking" statements may include, but are not limited to, statements containing words such as "may," "should," "could," "would," "expect," "plan," "goal," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," or similar expressions. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future results.  Although we believe that our opinions and expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements, and our actual results may differ substantially from statements made herein.  We cannot anticipate the duration of increased tariffs between the United States and other countries, particularly China.  We do not know whether we will be successful in passing such additional costs through to customers.  Any failure to do so would have a negative impact on our financial condition.  More information on factors that could affect CTI's business and financial results are included in its public filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

 

 

 

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SOURCE CTI Industries Corporation