Standard Diversified reports 4Q net loss, revenue increase
Turning Point Brands, a subsidiary of Standard Diversified Inc., distributes tobacco products including snuff and chewing tobacco. Credit: Securities and Exchange Commission
Standard Diversified Inc., a Mineola holding company with interests in tobacco, insurance and advertising businesses, swung to a fourth quarter net loss despite a nearly 40 percent increase in revenue.
Revenue climbed 39.8 percent to $102.9 million, driven by the company's interest in Turning Point Brands Inc., a publicly traded maker of non-cigarette tobacco products, and its Maidstone Insurance Co. unit, acquired in January 2018.
Shares of Standard Diversified rose 5.6 percent to close Tuesday at $17.51.
The company, which posted results for the quarter ended Dec. 31 after Monday's stock market close, reported a net loss of $3 million, or 18 cents per diluted share. That compared to net income of $847,000, or 5 cents per share, in the year-earlier quarter.
Driving the quarterly net loss was a 51.6 percent increase in total operating costs and expenses to $96.8 million.
On Friday, Standard Diversified aborted a planned $54.1 million acquisition of Tri-State Consumer Insurance Co. from Memphis, Tennessee-based WT Holdings Inc. and its affiliates.
The termination came at the end of an extended due diligence period. Tri-State is a provider of homeowner and personal auto insurance in New York.
Ken Schachter covers corporate news, including technology and aerospace, and other business topics for Newsday. He has also worked at The Miami Herald and The Jerusalem Post.
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