News

Cimpress Increases Full-Year Sales

Top 40 distributor Cimpress (asi/162149), owner of Vistaprint and National Pen, announced its total fiscal 2017 sales were $2.1 billion, a year-over-year increase of 19%. Excluding the effects of currency fluctuations and revenue from businesses acquired, Cimpress said its full-year sales were up 8%. The company, however, reported a GAAP 2017 loss from operations of $45.7 million, which it blamed on acquisition-related charges, the loss of certain partner profits and net restructuring costs.

Cimpress Increases Full-Year Sales

“Fiscal year 2017 was important in terms of the evolution of Cimpress,” said Robert Keane, the firm’s president and CEO, in a statement. “We decentralized our operations, delivered many new capabilities and product offerings, began using our mass customization platform, made strong investments in organic growth opportunities, and completed our largest acquisition to date. Additionally, we continue to improve our understanding of and approach to capital allocation, pushing this understanding deeper into our organization.”

In Q4, sales at Cimpress rose to $564.3 million, up 18% versus its fourth quarter a year earlier. Organic revenue grew by 9%. GAAP loss from operations was $9.7 million versus income from operations of $16 million in Q4 2016. While the Netherlands-based firm did not break out promotional product revenue, Cimpress reported its National Pen business earned $53.9 million in global Q4 sales. Cimpress announced the purchase of National Pen last December for $218 million.

For fiscal year 2018, Cimpress expects to achieve year-over-year restructuring savings of “approximately $35 million on a free cash flow basis, and approximately $50 million on an operating income basis.” The firm did not provide a specific revenue forecast for the next 12 months. “As we look ahead to fiscal year 2018, we are on track to recognize the financial benefits of our recent restructuring in line with our past commentary,” said Cimpress CFO Sean Quinn. “Our businesses are focused on delivering strong returns from past investment spend and…we expect to continue to invest significantly against our organic growth opportunities, albeit at a more modest amount relative to fiscal year 2017.”

Counselor ranks Cimpress as the eighth largest distributor in the industry, estimating the firm’s 2016 North American promo product sales were $225 million.