Finance

SCI’s 1Q24 results point out some Death Care headwinds

By Funeral Director Daily / May 6, 2024 /

    Service Corporation International (SCI) reported their 1st Quarter 2024 financial results last week.  North America’s largest death care provider did show an increase in revenue of 1.6% to about $1.045 billion for the quarter, but showed Operating Income dropping 5.6% from the comparable 1st Quarter of 2023 and also showed a decrease of…

A transition in leadership at Foundation Partners Group

By Funeral Director Daily / May 3, 2024 /

    We learned late last week that CEO Kent Robertson was leaving cremation centered acquisition group and operating company Foundation Partners Group and also learned that the interim management of the Orlando, Florida, based business would be led in the interim by Chris Blackwell with assistance from former FPG CEO Bob Bukala.   In…

Eirene receives $4 million in seed funding, expands into the United States

By Funeral Director Daily / April 29, 2024 /

  It was announced in this recent Pulse 2.0 article that Canada’s online-operated cremation provider Eirene has recently received over $4 million in seed funding led by Relay Ventures with participation from at least two other entities.   According to the article that brings a total of $5 million in funding to the company that was…

C&J Financial expands in Insurance Assignment funding

By Funeral Director Daily / April 29, 2024 /

  It was announced in this press release from last week that C&J Financial would be expanding by “becom(ing) the exclusive insurance assignments partner for Tribute Technology, taking over operations previously managed by the Tribute Insurance Assignments division”.   Jamie Meredith, Executive Vice President of C&J Financial, made this prepared comment in the press release,…

Starmark acquires AMA Containers

By Funeral Director Daily / April 19, 2024 /

It was announced earlier this week that Starmark, a leading manufacturer of innovative funeral products, has acquired AMA Containers.  AMA was originally founded in 1991 as Airline Mortuary Associates.   Starmark, according to the press release, was founded in 2004 and since that time have provided what they call “Sensible Solutions®” for cremation.   The press…

Seeking Alpha has a recent opinion on Carriage Services

By Funeral Director Daily / April 17, 2024 /

    Every once in a while the writers at Seeking Alpha put out an article on one of the Death Care Index stocks — Carriage Services, Service Corporation International, Park Lawn Corporation, Security National Financial Corporation, and Matthews International.  When they do, we like to pass that information along to our readers.   On…

Security National Financial CEO on their Memorial Segment: “Growth. . .is our goal”

By Funeral Director Daily / April 11, 2024 /

  It took awhile, but Security National Financial Corporation (SNFC) finally got around to posting the results of the company’s 2023 year just last week.  And, there is no doubt that SNFC’s Memorial Segment was one of the highlights of that report as that segment reported 10% revenue growth and 38% Earnings before Taxes growth…

Know your customer — How’s their credit?

By Funeral Director Daily / April 3, 2024 /

    The American economy keeps spending, yet we hear that families are getting squeezed by the combination of high prices and high interest rates.  We also hear that high interest rates don’t seem to be stopping the consumer which in turn would put a turn-down on the economy making a reason for lowering interest…

Death Care continues to lag other market sectors

By Funeral Director Daily / April 1, 2024 /

  The American stock market closed on Thursday, March 28, 2024, for the last time in the calendar of the 2024 First Quarter.  If you look at the results so far for the overall market for these first 3 months you would have to say that the results of the 1st Quarter as to the…

Propel Funeral Partners reports 1st Half 2024

By Funeral Director Daily / March 26, 2024 /

    The growth of Propel Funeral Partners of Australia and New Zealand is apparent when you look at the company’s financial report covering the 1st-Half of 2024, ending on December 31, 2023.  In looking at the report you will see that, what is now believed to be the South Pacific’s largest “publicly-held” death care…