Fiscal Year 2005 E.P.S. Estimate Increased to $2.13 - $2.18
GREENWICH, Conn., Jan. 7, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Blyth, Inc. (NYSE:BTH), a leading designer and marketer of home decor and home fragrance products, is hosting an investor meeting at its headquarters in Greenwich, Connecticut today. Management is presenting a strategic overview of Blyth, a consumer products company that sells home expressions products through multiple channels of distribution throughout North America and Europe, and is discussing the Company's recent performance in several key areas of operation. Presenters include Bruce G. Crain, President, Wholesale Group; Robert B. Goergen, Jr., President, Catalog & Internet Group; Frank P. Mineo, President, Direct Selling Group and Robert H. Barghaus, Chief Financial Officer. Chairman and CEO Robert B. Goergen will facilitate the meeting and subsequent question and answer session.
During its presentation, the Company will increase its fiscal year 2005 Earnings Per Share expectations to $2.13 to $2.18. Sales trends in Blyth's North American businesses continue to be soft, whereas sales in its European businesses remain strong. Cash flow from operations is expected to exceed $130 million, and capital spending of less than $20 million is anticipated. Blyth will announce its fiscal year 2005 fourth quarter and full year results on March 9, 2005.
Management is also reviewing Blyth's financial goals for annual sales and profit growth, operating profit margins and return on average shareholder's equity. Beginning in fiscal year 2006, Blyth's financial goals are 5% to 10% annual sales and profit growth, 10% to 12% operating profit margins and above 15% return on average shareholder's equity.
For fiscal year 2006, management expects Earnings Per Share to be $2.35 to $2.40. In making its fiscal year 2006 projections, the Company anticipates low single digit organic growth and takes into account the benefit from the July 2004 Dutch Tender Offer. Cash flow from operations is expected to exceed $130 million in fiscal year 2006, and capital spending of $20 million to $25 million is anticipated for the full year.
Blyth, Inc., headquartered in Greenwich, CT, USA, is a home expressions company competing primarily in the home fragrance, home decor, seasonal decorations and gift industry. The Company designs, markets and distributes an extensive array of candles, home fragrance products, decorative accessories, seasonal decorations and household convenience items, as well as tabletop lighting and chafing fuel for the Away From Home or foodservice trade. Blyth manufactures most of its candles and sources nearly all of its other products. Its products are sold direct to the consumer under the PartyLite(r) brand, to retailers in the premium and specialty retail channels under the Colonial Candle of Cape Cod(r), Colonial at HOME(r), Carolina(r), CBK(r), and Seasons of Cannon Falls(r) brands, to retailers in the mass retail channel under the Florasense(r), Ambria(r), FilterMate(r) and Sterno(r) brands, to consumers in the catalog and Internet channel under the Miles Kimball(r), Exposures(r), Walter Drake(r), The Home Marketplace(r) and Directions...the path to better health(r) brands, and to the Foodservice industry under the Sterno(r), Ambria(r) and HandyFuel(r) brands. In Europe, Blyth's products are also sold under the PartyLite(r), Colonial(r), Gies(r), Liljeholmens(r), Ambria(r), Carolina(r), Kaemingk(r), Edelman(r) and Euro-Decor(r) brands.
Blyth, Inc. may be found on the Internet at www.blyth.com.
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance and underlying assumptions and other statements that are other than statements of historical facts. Actual results could differ materially due to various factors, including the slowing of the United States or European economies or retail environments, the effects of our restructuring, the risk that we will be unable to maintain our historic growth rate, our ability to respond appropriately to changes in product demand, the risk that we will be unable to integrate the businesses that we acquire into our existing operations, the risks (including foreign currency fluctuations, economic and political instability, transportation delays, difficulty in maintaining quality control, trade and foreign tax laws and others) associated with international sales and foreign sourced products, risks associated with our ability to recruit new independent sales consultants, our dependence on key corporate management personnel, risks associated with the sourcing of raw materials for our products, competition in terms of price and new product introductions, risks associated with our information technology systems (including, susceptibility to outages due to fire, floods, power loss, telecommunications failures, computer viruses, break-ins and similar events) and other factors described in this press release, in the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended October 31, 2004 and in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 31, 2004.