Lifetime Brands' acquisition already paying off, analyst says

Kitchenware provider Lifetime Brands’ acquisition of a Seattle-based housewares company is paying off in better-than-expected first-quarter revenue, according to an analyst.

Garden City-based Lifetime had net sales of $118.2 million in the quarter that ended March 31, compared to $113.4 million in the same period a year earlier, according to earnings results the company released Tuesday.

That was 2.2 percent higher than what Frank Camma, a senior equity research analyst at Manhattan-based Sidoti & Co. and the only analyst who provided first-quarter estimates for Lifetime, had projected. And it was 4.2 percent more year over year.

The net sales include a few weeks of numbers from Filament Brands, a housewares company acquired by Lifetime on March 2 in a deal that valued the firm at about $313 million.

The merger of the two companies is expected to be “transformational,” with progress being realized in the second half of this year, Jeffrey Siegel, Lifetime’s executive chairman, said during a call with analysts Tuesday.

“It is our expectation that this will enable us to realize substantial operational efficiencies, propel Lifetime into new growth categories and position us to develop new sales opportunities worldwide,” he said.

During the first quarter Lifetime had a net loss of $11.6 million, or 70 cents a share, compared to a loss of $1.3 million, or 9 cents a share, in the same period a year ago.

The loss, however, includes some one-time charges, such as restructuring expenses and warehouse relocation, Camma said.

“I would say that the more important thing" is the sales the company is projecting for the full year, he said.

In its 2018 guidance Tuesday, Lifetime projected net sales of $760 million to $772 million, which is more than Camma’s prior estimate of $726 million.

“The guidance considers the continued growth of our ecommerce revenues with Amazon, now the second-largest customer of our business," CEO Rob Kay said on the analysts call. 

New promotions will be rolled out in the second half of the year, which will include the largest single order that Lifetime has ever received, Siegel said. The company has declined to name the customer. 

Lifetime’s stock closed at $10.70 Tuesday, down 10.8 percent.