Collectors Universe announced financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2015. For fiscal year 2015, services revenues increased by $1.1 million or 2% to a record $61.6 million from the previous record of $60.5 million established in fiscal year 2014.
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That increase was driven by a $0.8 million or 6% growth in company's cards and autographs business. Coin service revenues for the year were substantially unchanged as compared to fiscal year 2014.
In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015, service revenues declined by $1.3 million, or 8%, to $15.2 million as compared to $16.5 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. That decline was driven by a $1.5 million, or 13%, decrease in coin service revenues, resulting from lower revenues earned from the Baseball Hall of Fame modern coin program (HOF) and a slowing in the coin market.
Company's cards and autographs revenues increased by 4% in this year's fourth quarter as compared to the same quarter of fiscal 2014, representing the 20th consecutive quarter of quarter-over-quarter revenue growth for that business.
Coin service revenues generated by company's overseas operations increased to 8% and 7% of service revenues in the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2015, respectively, as compared to 5% and 6%, of service revenues in the corresponding periods of fiscal year 2014, respectively.
The services gross profit margin was 59% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 as compared to 64% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, reflecting lower margins earned on the HOF revenues and lower average service fees for the authentication and grading of coins in the quarter. The gross profit margins for both fiscal years 2015 and 2014 were consistent at 63%.
Operating income in this year's fourth quarter declined to $2.8 million from $3.8 million in last year's fourth quarter, reflecting the lower service revenues and related gross profit margin, as discussed above, partially offset by a $0.4 million reduction in operating expenses.
Operating income for fiscal year 2015 was $12.1 million as compared to $12.5 million in fiscal year 2014, reflecting higher non-cash stock based compensation of $0.3 million and higher litigation related legal costs of $0.4 million.
Income from continuing operations in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 was $1.8 million or $0.21 per diluted share as compared to $2.4 million or $0.29 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014.
In both fiscal years 2015 and 2014, income from continuing operations was $7.4 million and represented $0.87 per diluted share in fiscal year 2015 as compared $0.90 per diluted share, in fiscal year 2014.
The company's cash position as of June 30, 2015 was $17.3 million compared to $19.9 million as of June 30, 2014. Net cash used of $2.6 million in fiscal year 2015 included $11.2 million of cash generated from continuing operations and $11.4 million of cash used to pay dividends to stockholders.
The cash generated from continuing operations in fiscal year 2015 was $1.5 million lower than the $12.7 million in fiscal 2014, primarily reflecting the payment of higher annual incentives earned in fiscal 2014 but paid in fiscal year 2015.
On July 28, 2015, the company announced company's quarterly cash dividend of $0.35 per share, which will be paid on August 28, 2015 to stockholders of record on August 14, 2015. ■