Schawk Reports Losses for Q4, Full Year 2012

Consumer packaged goods (CPG) accounts sales during 2012 were $366.6 million, or 79.6 percent of total net sales, compared to $346.2 million in the same period of 2011, an increase of 5.9 percent, primarily due to higher product and brand development activity. Advertising and retail accounts sales in 2012 were $74.0 million, or 16.1 percent of total sales, a decrease of 8.8 percent, from $81.2 million during 2011, primarily driven by continued reductions in client promotional activity. Entertainment accounts sales for the full year of 2012 of $20.1 million, or 4.4 percent of total sales, decreased 28.0 percent, from $27.9 million in 2011, driven by continued declines in print-related promotional activity.

Gross profit was $157.3 million during 2012, a decline of $5.0 million from 2011. Gross profit in 2012 as a percentage of sales decreased to 34.1 percent from 35.6 percent in the prior-year period. The full-year decline in gross profit percent was largely driven by investments in expanding the company's brand development and deployment capabilities.

Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses increased approximately $10.8 million to $132.8 million during 2012 from $122.0 million in 2011. Included in SG&A expense for 2011 was an estimated $3.3 million of income related to the reversal of a contingent consideration payable related to the company's 2010 acquisition of Real Branding. During 2012, the company recorded $0.2 million of income related to the reversal of the remaining contingent consideration payable, thereby resulting in an estimated $3.1 million year-over-year increase to SG&A expenses. The remaining increase in SG&A expenses in 2012 compared to 2011 is principally due to increases in the company's investments in expanding brand development and deployment capabilities, particularly the Brandimage acquisition during 2011.

Multiemployer pension withdrawal expense increased by $29.6 million during 2012 compared to prior year, primarily related to the company's decision to completely withdraw from its remaining multiemployer pension plan in the United States.