Appleton reports $42.7 million loss

By Joel Dresang
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

After accounting for impairment charges for its discontinued British subsidiary, the papermaker Appleton said this afternoon that it had a second-quarter loss of $42.7 million compared with a loss of $1.7 million in the second quarter of 2007.

Sales between the two periods rose 2.9 percent to $249.8 million.

Through the first half of 2008 the Appleton-based maker of carbonless paper and packaging material had a loss of $21.3 million compared with a loss of $1.8 million the year before on sales of $486 million, up from $475.1 million in the first half of 2007.

Not including Bemrose Group Ltd., which Appleton sold recently for net proceeds of $7.6 million, the company had profit from continuing operations of $300,000 in the second quarter, compared with a loss from continuing operations of $900,000 in the second quarter of 2007.

Appleton files financial reports with federal regulators because of public debt secured as part of the employee buyout of the company in 2001. The company plans to discuss its financial results Tuesday at 10 a.m. at www.appletonideas.com/investors.