GARDEN CITY, N.Y—Lifetime Brands, Inc. saw net income decrease nearly 50 percent in the third quarter, which ended Sept. 30, 2012, to $3.9 million, from $7.5 million for the same period in 2011. For the first nine months of the year, ended Sept. 30, 2012, net income decreased to $5.8 million, from $8.6 million in the corresponding 2011 period.
Net sales for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012, were $128.1 million and $332.0 million, respectively, growing by 2.7 percent and 8.2 percent compared to the corresponding periods in 2011. The increases were a result of the inclusion of the net sales of Creative Tops, acquired in November 2011, as well as a strong increase in sales of kitchenware products, offset by a decrease in demand for tabletop and Home Solutions products, the company said.
“I am pleased to report that our core kitchenware products category performed well during the quarter, as it has all year; reflecting increases in our kitchen tools and gadgets and kitchen cutlery and cutting board product lines, and strong gains in cookware, driven by the introduction our new Guy Fieri cookware line,” said Jeffrey Siegel, chairman, president and CEO. “These gains were offset by declines in our tabletop and Home Solutions product categories. Sales of tabletop products were negatively impacted by several factors, including a decision to restrict sales of Mikasa-branded dinnerware to customers that maintain and primarily sell through brick and mortar facilities and the well-publicized problems at a major retailer that traditionally had been a significant customer of our tabletop products.” He added that Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath had little impact on operations.