Top 40 distributor Cimpress (asi/162149), parent company of Vistaprint and former Top 40 firm National Pen, said this week that net income and earnings per share rose during its fiscal second quarter and its half-year, both of which ended Dec. 31.

Net income for Q2 was $190.22 million, a 175% increase from the prior year’s second quarter. Meanwhile, half-year net income stood at $210.25 million, a 286% rise.

Robert S. Keane, Cimpress

For the quarter, basic net income per share was $7.04, up from $2.24. For the half-year, it was $7.41 compared to the prior half-year’s $1.76. Similarly, diluted net income per share for the current fiscal year’s second quarter tallied $6.81, an increase from $2.17. Meanwhile, half-year diluted earnings per share were $7.19 compared to $1.70.

The gains came even though total global second-quarter revenue dipped 0.6% to $820.33 million year over year. Half-year global sales improved nearly 3% to about $1.45 billion.

In part, the robust earnings occurred despite the Q2 sales back-step and modest half-year revenue improvement because Cimpress has been implementing practices that prize increased profitability and cash flow, while “foregoing top-line growth where we do not believe it can generate sufficient returns on the capital it requires or if it otherwise distracts from areas of the business that have an opportunity to generate higher returns on capital,” said Robert S. Keane, Cimpress’ founder, chairman and CEO.

The dynamic was evident in the performance of Vistaprint and National Pen. For instance, Vistaprint’s Q2 sales were down about $10 million from the previous Q2, to $433.3 million. However, Vistaprint’s EBITDA was up approximately $35 million to nearly $132.2 million. At National Pen, Q2 sales dropped about $5 million year over year to nearly $128 million, but EBITDA was up 5.5% to $28 million.