BIC Group, parent company of Top 40 supplier BIC Graphic (asi/40480), announced recently that it achieved net sales growth of 4.8% in the third quarter of 2015 and 5.8% during the first nine months of the year. BIC Graphic, the company’s promotional products division, reported decreased sales of 3.4% for the third quarter and flat revenue growth for the first nine months of 2015.

“Year-to-date results were good, with solid growth in all consumer categories, reinforcing our confidence that we will achieve our 2015 objectives,” said Mario Guevara, CEO of BIC. “Net sales growth was well balanced across geographies, with mid-single digit increases in both developed and developing markets, including a good performance in Latin America. In stationery, the back-to-school season sell-out was good in Europe, North America and Mexico while performance in lighters and shavers continued to be strong.”  

Specifically in its BIC Graphic business, the company said it recorded $84 million in third-quarter revenues and $226.2 million in sales through the first nine months of the year. The company does not specifically break out its North American promotional products revenue on a quarterly basis, but it said that its sales this year “were impacted by a timing impact in Calendars (shipments shifted from September to October). The Hard Goods segment continued to perform well, thanks to the ‘good value’ proposition, new product launches and BritePix imprinted technology.”

The company said that without the effects of the calendar shipment shifts, its sales growth would have met previous forecasts. “Excluding the negative timing impact in calendars, BIC Graphic net sales at the end of September 2015 would have increased low-single digit, in line with our expectations,” the company said in its public filing.

On its Top 40 list, Counselor ranks BIC Graphic as the fourth-largest supplier in the industry after the firm reported 2014 North American ad specialty sales of $323 million, a year-over-year increase of 3.2%.