MILWAUKEE – Brady Corporation announced that its sales from continuing operations for the third quarter of fiscal 2013 were up 11 percent compared to the same period in 2012.

The Milwaukee-based company also announced Thursday that it plans to sell its Asia-based Die-Cut business.

According to a company statement, Brady Corporation’s sales from continuing operations for the fiscal 2013 third quarter were up 11 percent to $305.7 million compared to $275.4 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2012. Organic sales were down 4.7 percent, acquisitions added 16.8 percent, and the impact of foreign currency translation decreased sales by 1.1 percent. By segment, organic sales decreased 2.9 percent in the Americas, 4.8 percent in EMEA and 11.6 percent in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the company.
Net earnings from continuing operations in the fiscal 2013 third quarter were $21.8 million compared to $28.0 million in the same quarter last year, according to the company statement.

“In the face of a challenging economy, we continue to position Brady for long-term success by optimizing our portfolio of businesses, aligning our organization with growth opportunities and reducing our infrastructure costs,” said President and Chief Executive Officer, Frank M. Jaehnert.

“As part of our previously announced strategy to improve organic growth and profitability, effective May 1, 2013, we are changing our organizational structure from geographically-based to an organization structured around global business platforms. We are also targeting expansion in faster-growing geographies such as Central Europe, the Middle East, Africa and selected markets in Asia; and focusing on industries such as food and beverage, chemical, oil, and gas and health care.”