TransAct Technologies Corp. saw strong third-quarter sales of the Hamden firm’s specialty printers for fast-food outlets, casinos and drilling rigs, but a rival’s trade-secret lawsuit created a huge drag on earnings.
For three months ended Sept. 30, TransAct netted $23,000, or zero cents a share, plummeting from $839,000, or 9 cents a diluted share, netted the same period a year ago.
The company said it spent $1 million in the quarter on legal expenses to defend against the suit brought by labeling- and packaging-equipment maker Avery Dennison Corp. of Pasadena, Calif. Avery claims TransAct’s new line of food-safety labeling gear infringes on technology in Avery’s similar line of equipment that it makes in an Ohio plant.
Both parties await an Ohio judge’s decision on Avery’s petition for a temporary injunction blocking TransAct from marketing its Ithaca line of food-safety label printers, a TransAct spokesman said Tuesday.
Third-quarter sales rose 9 percent to $15.4 million vs. $14.1 million last year.
Chairman and CEO Bart C. Shuldman said demand TransAct expects to post $19 million in fourth-quarter sales, as well as a per-share profit despite the expense of the Avery lawsuit.
Shuldman said TransAct is nearly fully done integrating its acquired Printrex line of rugged printers for plotting data from down-hole sensors at oil and gas drilling sites. Printrex’s new line of color drilling printers should contribute smartly to sales and profits in coming quarters, the CEO said.
In September, TransAct announced its first-ever quarterly dividend, 6 cents a share to be paid Dec. 12 to common stockholders on record by Nov. 21.