A rise in sales of promotional products, branded apparel and gifts contributed to Top 40 distributor Cimpress’ (asi/162149) company-wide 7.6% revenue increase in the first quarter of its fiscal 2024 year.

The publicly traded Dundalk, Ireland-based firm, whose businesses include Vistaprint and former Top 40 distributor National Pen, reported that its total global sales for the three-month period ended Sept. 30 were nearly $757.3 million.

The figure includes more than promo/apparel sales but those were certainly up, helping to drive a 7% year-over-year increase in Cimpress’ Vista division, which includes web-based provider of print and promo Vistaprint, according to CEO Robert Keane.

Robert Keane, Cimpress

New product introduction helped spur the acceleration to Q1 revenue of about $396.65 million in Vista’s worldwide business. The division’s total revenue expansion was also partly due to rising sales of signage, packaging and labels.

Broadly, “revenue growth (in Vista) was driven by approximately even contribution from order growth and higher average order values from both product mix and pricing,” said Keane in a note to investors.

Meanwhile, National Pen’s sales rose 7% in Q1 2023 compared to the same quarter the previous year, tallying $87.25 million.

National Pen delivered what Keane said was strong growth in its e-commerce channel and cross-business fulfillment, but this was partially offset by the non-recurrence of a $2.2 million timing-related revenue benefit in the year-ago period from a change in shipping terms, and a $1.7 million impact from the shutdown of National Pen's business in Japan during the 2023 fiscal year.

As a result of these and other impacts, National Pen sustained an $8.3 million loss (earnings) before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).

Nonetheless, the picture on Cimpress’ company-wide earnings was brighter. Net income in the first quarter was $4.55 million – a significant improvement over Q1 the prior year when Cimpress sustained a $25.4 million loss. Earnings per share in Q1 2024 were $0.17.

Keane noted that Cimpress’ consolidated operating income in first quarter 2024 improved to $34.1 million, while adjusted company-wide EBITDA grew $43.1 million year over year to $88.7 million.

“Based on our Q1 results, we are increasing our profitability guidance to an expectation for Fiscal Year 2024 operating income of at least $206 million and adjusted EBITDA of at least $425 million,” Keane said. Cimpress is predicting total global topline revenue growth of 8% for the full fiscal year.

Based on reported 2022 North American promotional product revenue of $283 million, Cimpress ranked 10^th on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors in the industry.

During its fiscal 2023 year, Cimpress increased total global full-year sales across all its business divisions by 6.6% to $3.07 billion. Despite Q4 profitability that year, Cimpress still experienced a net loss of $185.9 million, or -$7.08 per share, for its fiscal 2023.