Mail Delivery Remains Strong as Holiday Season Nears

Financial and Business Highlights •Record gross revenue was $288.4 million in the third quarter, an increase of 3% compared with $280.0 million in the third quarter of 2016. Year-to-date gross revenue was $835.3 million, a 2% increase compared with $820.3 million in the prior period. •Record gross profit (net revenue) was $72.5 million, or 25.1% of gross revenue in the third quarter, a 7% increase compared to $67.8 million, or 24.2% of gross revenue, in the same period of last year. Year-to-date gross profit (net revenue) was $207.0 million, or 24.8% of gross revenue, an increase of 6% compared to the prior-year period. •Net income was $7.5 million or $0.14 per diluted share in the third quarter, compared to net income of $4.3 million or $0.08 per share in the third quarter of 2016. Year-to-date net income was $17.5 million or $0.32 per diluted share, compared to net income (loss) of $(0.7) million or $(0.01) per diluted share in the same period of 2016. Click Read More below for additional information.

It seems businesses are finally bouncing back after the past two years of the pandemic. However, even though business is picking up, there is one glaring issue: The availability of paper stocks has become limited and unpredictable, and as a result the price of paper stock is inevitably increasing. Supply chain issues have been throwing curveballs at various manufacturing segments, and the printing industry is no exception. The availability of paper stocks has become slim as raw material costs rise, mills enact allocations and price increases, and labor shortages continue. So, are we doomed? Not even close. During an hour-long Printing Impressions and In-plant Impressions webinar, Marco Boer VP of I.T. Strategies and President of Midland Specialty Paper & Film Mike Ratcliff discussed the reasons for printing paper supply shortages, the steps printing companies can take to address the limitations head-on, and what print providers can expect in the future of the paper supply chain.

Auto-renewal subscription programs are a great way for e-commerce businesses to build a constant revenue stream. And they benefit both the company and the consumer. Companies can sell their product or service consistently over a period of time, while the customer doesn’t have to be hassled with repurchasing the product or service every month or year. My daughter has a guinea pig, and we have set our Amazon account to send us her preferred guinea pig food each month, for which we get automatically charged the same amount each month. Little Trevor will never starve! Similarly, we subscribe to Netflix, and we pay a fee that is automatically charged to our credit card each month. Many subscription programs offer new customers the ability to try a service for free for a trial period. To take advantage of the free trial offer, customers have to provide a credit card that will be automatically charged at the end of the trial if the customer does not cancel in time. Click Read More below for additional information.