Revealing Profit Analysis Report from BSA/PTDA

Glen Ellyn, IL--The Bearing Specialists Association (BSA) has announced that more half of the participants in the recent 2007 BSA/PTDA Distributor Performance Report were BSA members. The results point to the significant value the report has to authorized distributors of bearings and related products. BSA member companies are authorized distributors of factory-warranted ball-, roller-, and anti-friction bearings. Prepared annually by the Profit Planning Group, a Boulder, Colorado-based financial consulting firm which collects and analyzes the confidential income statements, balance sheets and operating data provided by participating companies, the Distributor Performance Report is a well-established financial and planning benchmark for companies within the bearing distribution industry. Working with the Profit Planning Group and PTDA, this year BSA had requested that the data and results be delivered earlier in 2007 to allow participants more timely results and a head-start on implementing individual corporate efforts to improve their bottom line. Results of the 2007 BSA/PTDA Distributor Performance Report, which is based on 2006 financial data supplied by the participants, indicate that financial performance varied widely in 2006, from a pre-tax return on assets of 11.8-percent for typical firms to a return of 25.9 percent for high profit firms. (See the attached chart for details.) The report identifies a handful of critical profit variables -- sales per employee, gross margin percentage, operating expense percentage, inventory turnover, and average collection period -- that in total differentiate typical firms from those that are high profit. The goal is for participating firms to analyze their performance against the high-profit firms and, ultimately, perform (or continue to perform) at those levels. Participants receive a complete report as well as a personalized Profit Improvement Profile (PIP) and access to the Profit toolkit Online. The PIP contains comparisons of the participating firm¡¯s financial performance to the industry. Significantly, the PIP suggests areas where improvement opportunities exist and specific suggestions for achieving higher profitability. BSA members rank participation in the annual Distributor Performance Report as one of the most valuable benefits of membership in the international association, noting that there is absolutely no cost to participate, yet the individualized results give firms concrete industry benchmarks for planning purposes. An international service and educational organization of distributors representing a total of almost 100 companies distributing factory-warranted ball-, roller-, and anti-friction bearings and invited manufacturers of bearings and related products, the association¡¯s mission says, ¡°BSA is the forum to enhance networking and knowledge sharing and promote the sale of bearings through authorized distributors.¡± For more information on BSA or the 2007 Annual Convention, contact the BSA office at (630) 858-3838; fax (630) 790-3095; email info@bsahome.org or visit the association website at www.bsahome.org.