Warm winter cools Prestige sales
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Low demand for cold and flu products continued to slow Prestige Brands' sales during its fiscal 2007 fourth quarter, but sales of Wartner wart treatment products it acquired in September 2006 prevented a larger slide and the firm looks for a sales boost this year from a Murine brand line extension. In a May 9 earnings release, the Irvington, N.Y.-based firm said its sales fell 2% to $78 mil. in the January-March period. During a same-day earnings call, Chairman and CEO Mark Pettie said the low demand in the firm's third quarter for cold and flu products continued in its latest quarter (1"The Tan Sheet," Feb. 12, 2007, p. 5). OTC sales were down 3% to $43.3 mil., with Chloraseptic sales dropping 20% and Little Remedies 9%, Pettie added. In the first half of its fiscal 2008, Prestige will launch a Murine aerosol product for preventing ear wax buildup and target initial marketing for people with chronic problems, he said...