American Greetings Posts 2Q Loss on Acquisition Costs

Two days after its CEO offered to take the company private for $581 million, American Greetings  (NYSE:AM) swung to a second-quarter loss as acquisition costs weighed heavily on its bottom line.

The Cleveland, Ohio-based greeting card maker on Friday posted a loss of $4.3 million, or 13 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $14.5 million, or 36 cents.

Excluding one-time costs related to the buy of U.K. retailer Clinton Cards, American Greetings earned about 24 cents, topping average analyst estimates of 14 cents in a Thomson Reuters poll.

The results come two days after American Greetings CEO Zev Weiss and other members of his family, including Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Weiss, offered to take the card company private in a $581 million deal.

Revenue for the three months ended Aug. 24 was $393.8 million, up from $370.2 million a year ago, missing the Street’s view of $432 million.

American Greetings said its North American business edged up just 0.6% to $265.9 million during the quarter, while its smaller international group fell by 1.4% to $74.8 million.

Expenses climbed across the board, with materials, labor and other production costs rising by 12%.