Bacou Completes Acquisition Of Perfect Fit; Announces First Quarter Earnings

Bacou USA Inc. (Smithfield, RI), a manufacturer of personal protection equipment, completed its acquisition of Perfect Fit Glove Co. Inc. and affiliated businesses on April 1. Bacou expects the operating margin of Perfect Fit to be in a range of 10–12%, prior to amortization of intangible assets, which is expected to be approximately $1.1 million annually for 30 years. As previously announced, combined annual net sales of Perfect Fit and affiliates were approximately $47.3 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 1998.

Bacou also announced today that it expects to incur approximately $2.3 million of interest expense in 1999 (based on current interest rate projections) in connection with the acquisition of Perfect Fit and its affiliates. In recent filings with the SEC, Bacou disclosed that it financed the acquisition primarily by borrowing $50 million from Banque Nationale de Paris. Bacou also assumed tax-exempt industrial development bond indebtedness of approximately $6.8 million.

Bacou also reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 1999. Net sales for the first quarter were $54.6 million, compared with 1998 first quarter net sales of $49.5 million. Net sales for Bacou's safety segment increased 11.8% from $41.1 million in 1998 to $45.9 million in 1999, while net sales in the optical frames and instruments segment increased 2.5% from $8.4 million in 1998 to $8.7 million in 1999.

Bacou's net income for the first quarter of 1999 increased to $5.5 million from $2.7 million for the first quarter of 1998—up 100.0%. As for net income per basic and diluted share, Bacou reported $0.31 for the first quarter of 1999, up 106.7% from $0.15 for the first quarter of 1998.

Bacou USA Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells products that protect the sight, hearing, respiratory systems, and hands of workers, as well as related instrumentation including vision screeners, gas monitors, and test equipment for self-contained breathing apparatus.

For more information, call Bacou USA Inc. at 401-233-0333.