MoreCLEVELAND -- Royal Appliance Mfg. Co. (NYSE:RAM), maker of Dirt Devil floor care products, had record net sales for the year ended Dec. 31, 2001 of $428.4 million, which were up 5 percent from last year's record of $408.2 million.
The company reported net income for the year was $9.3 million, a 57 percent leap from the net income for the year ended Dec. 31, 2000, of $5.9 million. The 2000 results include a $930,000 research and development tax credit related to prior years, which increased earnings per share by $.06 in 2000.
Net sales for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2001 increased 3 percent to $130.7 million from $126.5 million for the comparable 2000 period. Net income for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2001, was $3.8 million, up 25 percent from the net income of $3 million for the comparable 2000 period.
"Our record net sales over the past three years were due in large part to a strong consumer response to new products in our Dirt Devil floorcare line," said CEO Michael J. Merriman. "The strength of these new offerings has enabled us to maintain the significant market share increases that we achieved in the past few years. The growth in net sales and profits in 2001 were driven by the success of our first consumer electronics product, the Telezapper, which began shipping in the third quarter of 2001."
Royal Appiance also announced a licensing arrangement with The Procter & Gamble Company, and will launch in the second half of 2002 a new product to clean carpets more effectively. This licensing arrangement is the latest outcome of Royal's Product Launch Partners initiative, previously announced last month as LaunchPad Partners.
Glenwillow, Ohio-based Royal Appliance Mfg. Co. (www.dirtdevil.com) enjoys 98 percent brand name awareness in the Dirt Devil name and also manufactures products such as uprights, hand vacs, stick vacuums, canister vacs, wet/dry vacs and sweepers under the Dirt Devil and Royal brand names. These products are now sold through major retailers nationwide.
