News Archives
July 2003
July 25, 2003
Quebecor World posts loss; Moore sales up
MONTREAL, MISSISSAUGA—This was not a good day at Quebecor World, as the company’s shares tumbled after it released second quarter results. While sales remained flat at US$1.5 billion for the period ended June 30, the company suffered a US$62 million loss due to impairment of assets, restructuring and other charges. As a result the company has announced that additional cost-cutting measures are necessary, including eliminating about 1,000 positions. The measures are in addition to cuts announced in the fourth quarter of 2002. Quebecor World stock price tumbled almost 7% after the results were released. The mood was considerably brighter at Moore which announced improved numbers in mid-week. Sales in the second quarter ended June 30, totalled US$650.1 up from US$499.8 at the same time last year. Net earning also went up to US$18.9 million from US$15.2 million.

Heidelberg numbers mirror stagnant industry
HEIDELBERG, Germany—Heidelberg has seen its sales drop almost 23% in its first quarter ended June 30. Sales for the quarter totalled Euro 718 million from Euro 931 million in the same quarter last year. This translated into a loss of Euro 77 million for the period compared to net earnings of Euro 12 million in 2002. The company was hardest hit in his sheetfed division where revenues were down 29%. Its digital and web divisions suffered sales declines of 2% and 1.1% respectively. Postpress was down 10%. Sales in North America fell 15%.
July 22, 2003
Davis + Henderson sales up 10%
TORONTO—Davis + Henderson, the country’s largest cheque supplier, has reported sales of $62.7 million for the second quarter ended June 30. That’s an increase of 10.6% over the prior year’s second quarter. Sales for the first six months of the year totalled $124.7 million, up from $116.6 a year earlier. Bob Cronin, president, attributed the performance to consumer migration to new, more efficient ordering channels, and the launch last fall of new security features and new designs that produced an increase in average order value. The company has set annual sales growth of 3% to 5%. Net income also grew to $12 million in June 2003, from $11.6 million last year.

CCL buys European label plants
TORONTO—CCL Industries has signed an agreement to buy Avery Dennison’s European label converting business for about $85 million. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2003. Avery Dennison, which focuses on labels converting for the healthcare and other specialty markets, has 325 employees at its facilities in Denmark and France and annual sales of about $82 million. The deal, combined with acquisitions from last year, is set to bolster CCL Label into one of the largest label converting networks in Europe.

July 17, 2003
Printing exports rise but deficit still prevails
OTTAWA—Exports of printed products, including books and periodicals, grew 3.8% from 2001 to 2002, while exports of printed advertising materials jumped 7.3%, according to information released earlier in the month by Statistics Canada. Imports of printed products rose by 1.9% and by 3% for advertising printed material. The information is part of an overall look at international trade in cultural goods, 52% of which is print media. However, Canada is still running a cultural trade deficit. It exported $1.2 billion in publishing and printed products, but imported $2.9 billion for a trade deficit of $1.7 billion, the largest deficit of any cultural goods category. Of this, books accounted for $1 billion of the deficit. The reverse is true for printed advertising materials. Here, Canada exported $527.8 million worth of goods and imported $197.2 million, for a surplus of $330.6 million. The U.S. accounts for most of that trade.

MDC sells more Custom Direct shares
TORONTO—MDC is selling an additional 2.7 million units of Custom Direct Income Fund for gross proceeds of $29.64 million. The sale is to be completed by a private placement. Upon completion of the placement, MDC will have realized $208 million from selling 80% of its stake in Custom Direct. The company still owns 20% which it has agreed not to sell until December 2003.

July 11, 2003
Winnipeg Technical College adds flexography courses
WINNIPEG—Winnipeg Technical College is set to bolster its Production Art program with two new flexography courses, the only such training offered in Western Canada. The courses will be offered to students in January, but the school hopes to offer a full flexo program in future, says Rae-Lynn Rempel, marketing recruitment representative. The school says it introduced the courses in response to industry requests for them, including from the flexo association in the U.S. It has received a flexo press from the FTA and financial assistance from other industry bodies including Winpak, CCL Label, Pollard Banknote and 3M. The school trains about 72 students each year in its day and evening programs.

Kwik Copy shop files bankruptcy
BURLINGTON, Ont.—Fastcomm, the company that ran the Kwik Copy print shop, has filed for bankruptcy and the print shop is currently being run as a corporate store. Arvind Gupta, owner of Fastcomm, also owns a Franklin’s quick print franchise location in Virginia and according to records obtained by PrintCan the U.S. business is the major creditor of the Burlington shop. Gupta did not return phone calls, and there is no word yet if an auction is to be held. Stay tuned for more details as they become available.

July 4, 2003
Informco wins pollution prevention award
TORONTO—Informco has received the Pollution Prevention Award from the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment in the mid-size business category. The award is bestowed on companies that have demonstrated significant results and leadership in minimizing the creation of pollutants and waste. This is the first time that a printing company has received the award. The CCME Pollution Prevention Awards were established in 1997 to support the council’s emphasis on preventing pollution rather than cleaning it up later.

Quebecor World extends contract with Verizon
MONTREAL—Quebecor World is getting a multi-year contract extension to print 121 SuperPages directories, published by Verizon Information Services-Canada. The work will be printed in Edmonton and Hazleton, Penn. Verizon is Canada’s second-largest directory publisher, distributing more than 14 million SuperPages directories in B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.

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