Hillenbrand Industries reported 2nd quarter results last week.  Hillenbrand, long known as the parent company of Batesville Caskets, has been, of late, driven by its entry into the Processed Equipment arena.  The company reported a net loss for the quarter which was the result of taking a $63 million dollar charge against the carrying value versus the fair value of a segment of its Process Equipment Group.

Actual, non-accounting results for the quarter showed that the company revenue grew by over 14% for the quarter to $452 million versus $395 million for the same period of a year ago.  That increase included a 23% increase in sales of the Processed Equipment Group.  It also, however, included a 1% increase in the sales of the Batesville Casket Company unit.

You can read the company press release about its earnings here.

Here are some highlights we took from the release:

• Gross profit (or margin)  increased over $20 million for the quarter year over year to $168.7 million from $148.6 million.
• Without the accounting charge, Net Profit would have been about $41 million for the quarter versus last years 2Q Net Profit of about $34 million
• Of the $452 million in revenue, the Processed Equipment Group revenue was reported at $300 million and the Batesville Casket Company revenue was reported at $152 million.
• Batesville Casket Company increased revenue 1% over the same period of a year ago.  Management stated, “The growth was primarily the result of higher burial volume driven by an increase in North American deaths, partially offset by lower sales of non-burial products.”
• Hillenbrand adjusted their overall yearly guidance upward to reflect that they believe revenue will grow 3-5% instead of 2-4%.  The growth will come from the Processed Equipment Group which they now believe will increase revenues from 7-9% whereas previous guidance was listed at 5-7%.
• The company still believes that guidance in the Batesville division will be downward for the year by about 1-3%.

Funeral Director Daily take:  Hillenbrand is a lot different company than I remember as a young funeral director.  Gone is the reliance on casket profits as well as the Hill-Rom hospital equipment segment.  It is interesting to note that the Batesville segment of the company now only accounts for about 1/3 of the sales.

However, Hillenbrand remains a viable and profitable company with great growth potential.  It is a good story to point out that you have to always be looking for how your own business can face the challenges ahead and continue to be relevant.  Batesville has been a master at re-inventing themselves over the years as the evolution of the death care industry has evolved away from their bread and butter casket manufacturing business.

[wpforms id=”436″ title=”true” description=”true”]