DT Industries reports drop in 3Q results

DT Industries, a US-based engineering-driven designer, manufacturer and integrator of automation systems and related equipment used to package food, has reported a net loss of $12.8 million (€14million) for the three months ended March 24, 2002. This compared with a net loss of $3.4 million in the same period of the previous year.

Net sales for the quarter ended March 24, 2002 decreased $63.8 million to $60.2 million from $124.0 million for the three months ended March 25, 2001.

Steve Perkins, President and CEO, said, "We continue to see the benefit of the controls we put in place to improve operational performance in our improved project margins and the cost reduction efforts during the last 12 months. This is clearly evident in that our operating income decrease from the previous year's quarter, before restructuring and other non-recurring expenses, was only $6.2 million given a sales decline of $53.1 million. As previously reported, we also expect further savings in manufacturing overhead and operating costs of $5.0 - $6.0 million per year as a result of our integration efforts. We expect to begin to realize these savings in FY 2003. The past 12 to 18 months have been a very difficult time for our industry and our company, but DTI has 'leaned up' and has significantly reduced its breakeven point and we believe that DTI is primed for the expected recovery in capital spending."​

Packaging segment sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2002 were $13.5 million compared with $18.4 million in the same period last year, adjusted for the sale of Scheu & Kniss. Gross margins in the packaging segment were 21.8 per cent versus 19.4 per cent in the third quarter of fiscal 2001. The improvement in gross margins reflects the reduction of head count and overhead costs as well as a more favourable product mix.