Improved Margins Help Manchester Beat Estimates

The company says earnings for the quarter, ended Jan. 31, came in at $433,000, or 5 cents per diluted share, up from $24,000 a year ago. Revenue was $68.1 million, down slightly from $70.9 million in the second quarter of last year but up from the $61.6 million recorded in the first quarter of this fiscal year.

Barry R. Steinberg, president and CEO, says sequentially, revenue was up more than 10 percent from the previous quarter, and earnings were up more than 300 percent.

"We were able to take advantage of certain special product opportunities during this quarter that provided us with growth in revenue and strong improvement in product margins," said Steinberg in a statement.

However, he said market conditions make it difficult to predict if the margin opportunities will continue over the next few quarters.

In addition, Manchester saw growth in its services business, bolstered by the acquisitions of Donovan Consulting Group and e.Track Solutions. The company says the strategy moving forward is to continue to focus on higher-margin products and services, and continue to expand through internal growth and strategic acquisitions.