Prestige Brands Holdings Inc., which owns some of the most well known brand name products such as Chloroseptic, Luden”™s, Dramamine, and Spic and Span, reported a loss for the fourth quarter, mainly due to the expense of debt taken on to finance acquisitions.
Operating income was $22.5 million, but debt-related expenses totaled $21.7 million. After taxes, the loss was $15,000. That translates to break-even on a per share basis, compared with earnings of $6.4 million, or 13 cents a share, a year earlier. For the year, Prestige had a profit as earnings rose to $37 million, or 73 cents a share, from $29 million, or 58 cents, in 2011. Revenues were up 30 percent.
Revenues for the fourth quarter were up almost 40 percent from a year ago, to $134 million from $96 million. Revenue from the company”™s core over-the-counter brands was up 14 percent. Those brands are Chloroseptic, Clear Eyes, Compound W, Little Remedies, The Doctor”™s, NightGuard, Efferdent, PediaCare,  Dramamine and Luden”™s. Revenue for the OTC segment overall was up more than 50 percent.
Revenues from two months of ownership of 17 brands bought from GlaxoSmithKline made up 80 percent of the rise in revenue in the quarter.
Revenue in the household cleaning unit of the business were down in the quarter from a year ago, but Prestige said the rate of decline has improved from a year ago because of stronger sales of Spic and Span and the Comet line of stainless steel cleaners.
Advertising and promotion in the quarter was up 30 percent from a year earlier. Costs associated with the Glaxo acquisition and costs to evaluate an unsolicited takeover proposal from Genomma Lab Internacional of Mexico City cut into operating income.
Prestige also said it would seek more acquisitions. And it reiterated that it expects to report per share earnings for 2013 of $1.22 to $1.32.
