Ennis, Inc.: Form 10-K for the period ended Feb 28, 2025

Overview

Ennis, Inc. (formerly Ennis Business Forms, Inc.) (collectively with its subsidiaries, the “Company,” “Registrant,” “Ennis,” or “we,” “us,” or “our”) was organized under the laws of Texas in 1909. Ennis is primarily a “trade printer” that manufactures a broad range of printed products that are resold throughout the United States through a network of independent distributors. This distributor channel encompasses independent print distributors, commercial printers, direct mail, fulfillment companies, payroll and accounts payable software companies, and advertising agencies, among others. We also sell products to many of our competitors to satisfy their customers’ needs.

Business Overview

Our management believes we are the largest provider of business forms, pressure-seal forms, labels, tags, envelopes, and presentation folders to independent distributors in the United States.

We are in the business of manufacturing, designing and selling business forms and other printed business products primarily to distributors located in the United States. We operate 56 manufacturing plants throughout the United States in 20 strategically located states as one reportable segment; printing services and manufacture of business forms. Approximately 94% of the business products we manufacture are custom and semi-custom products, constructed in a wide variety of sizes, colors, number of parts and quantities on an individual job basis, depending upon the customers’ specifications.

The products we sell include snap sets, continuous forms, laser cut sheets, tags, labels, envelopes, integrated products, jumbo rolls and pressure sensitive products in short, medium and long runs under the following labels: Ennis®, Royal Business Forms®, Block Graphics®, ColorWorx®, Enfusion®, Uncompromised Check Solutions®, VersaSeal®, Ad ConceptsSM, FormSource LimitedSM, Star Award Ribbon Company®, Witt Printing®, Genforms®, PrintGraphics®, Calibrated Forms®, PrintXcel®, Printegra®, Forms ManufacturersSM, Mutual Graphics®, TRI-C Business FormsSM, Major Business SystemsSM, Independent PrintingSM, Hayes Graphics®, Wright Business GraphicsSM, Wright 360SM, Integrated Print & GraphicsSM, the Flesh CompanySM, AmeriPrintSM; StylecraftSM, UMC PrintSM; Eagle GraphicsSM, Diamond GraphicsSM and Printing TechnologiesSM. We also sell the Adams McClure® brand (which provides Point of Purchase advertising); the Admore®, Folder Express®, and Independent Folders® brands (which provide presentation folders and document folders); Ennis Tag & LabelSM (which provides custom printed, high performance labels and custom and stock tags); Allen-Bailey Tag & LabelSM, Atlas Tag & Label®, Kay Toledo Tag®, and Special Service Partners® (SSP) (which provides custom and stock tags and labels); Trade Envelopes®, Block Graphics®, Wisco®, and National Imprint Corporation® (which provide custom and imprinted envelopes); Northstar® and General Financial Supply® (which provide financial and security documents); InfosealSM and PrintXcel® (which provide custom and stock pressure seal documents). School Photo Marketing and National School Forms are a one-stop shop for over 1,400 school portrait photographers and professional photo labs nationwide, providing them with a complete array of products and services that reach over 15 million families and 30,000 schools, primarily in the K-8 market. We sell predominantly through independent distributors, as well as to many of our competitors. Northstar Computer Forms, Inc., one of our wholly-owned subsidiaries, also sells direct to a small number of customers, generally large banking organizations (where a distributor is not acceptable or available to the end-user). Adams McClure, LP, a wholly-owned subsidiary, also sells direct to a small number of customers, where sales are generally through advertising agencies.

The printing industry generally sells its products either predominantly to end users, a market dominated by a few large manufacturers, such as R.R. Donnelley and Taylor Corporation, or, like the Company, through a variety of independent distributors and distributor groups. While it is not possible, because of the lack of adequate public statistical information, to determine the Company’s share of the total business products market, management believes the Company is the largest producer of business forms, pressure-seal forms, labels, tags, envelopes, and presentation folders in the United States distributing primarily through independent distributors.

There are a number of competitors that operate in this segment. We believe our strategic locations and buying power permit us to compete on a favorable basis within the distributor market on competitive factors, such as service, quality, and price.

Distribution of business forms and other business products throughout the United States is primarily done through independent distributors, including business forms distributors, resellers, direct mail, commercial printers, software companies, and advertising agencies.

Raw materials principally consist of a wide variety of weights, widths, colors, sizes, and qualities of paper for business products purchased primarily from one major supplier at favorable prices based on our high volume of business with that supplier relative to our competitors.

Business products usage in the printing industry is generally not seasonal. General economic conditions and contraction of the traditional business forms industry are the predominant factors in quarterly volume fluctuations.

Recent Acquisitions

We have completed a number of acquisitions in recent years.

On June 26, 2024, we acquired the assets and business of Printing Technologies, Inc. ("PTI") in Indianapolis, Indiana. In the last full year preceding the acquisition, PTI generated approximately $12.5 million in combined sales. The acquisition of PTI strengthens our production capabilities and diversifies our product offerings to serve our large and growing customer base.

On October 11, 2023, we acquired the assets and business of Eagle Graphics, Inc. ("Eagle") in Annville, Pennsylvania, and Diamond Graphics, Inc. ("Diamond") in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. In the last full year preceding the acquisition, Eagle and Diamond generated approximately $8.7 million in combined sales. The acquisition of these facilities strengthens our production capabilities to serve our large and growing customer base in the Northeast part of the country.

On June 2, 2023, we acquired the assets and business of UMC Print ("UMC") in Overland Park, Kansas, which reported approximately $16.1 million in 2022. The addition of UMC added new commercial printing capabilities, expanded our distributor customer base and provided our existing distributors with new product offerings to further drive their growth.

On May 23, 2023 we acquired the real estate and operations of Stylecraft Printing Company ("Stylecraft") in Canton, Michigan, which prior to the acquisition generated approximately $7.0 million in sales for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2022. Stylecraft is a trade only printer since 1967 specializing in business forms, integrated products and commercial printing.

Patents, Licenses, Franchises and Concessions

Other than the patent for our VersaSeal® product, we do not have any significant patents, licenses, franchises, or concessions.

Intellectual Property

We market our products under a number of trademarks and trade names. The protection of our trademarks is important to our business. We believe that our registered and common law trademarks have significant value and these trademarks are important to our ability to create and sustain demand for our products. We have registered trademarks in the United States for Ennis®, EnnisOnlineSM, Block Graphics®, Enfusion®, 360º Custom LabelsSM, Admore®, CashManagementSupply.comSM, Securestar®, Northstar®, MICRLink®, MICR ConnectionTM, General Financial Supply®, Calibrated Forms®, PrintXcel®, Printegra®, Trade Envelopes®, Witt Printing®, Genforms®, Royal Business Forms®, Crabar/GBFSM, BF&SSM, Adams McClure®, Advertising ConceptsTM, ColorWorx®, Allen-Bailey Tag & LabelSM, Atlas Tag & Label®, PrintgraphicsSM, Uncompromised Check Solutions®, VersaSeal®, VersaSeal SecureX®, Folder Express®, Wisco®, National Imprint Corporation®, Star Award Ribbon®, Kay Toledo Tag®, Falcon Business FormsSM, Forms ManufacturersSM, Mutual Graphics®, TRI-C Business FormsSM, SSP®, EOSTouchpoint®, Printersmall®, Check Guard®, Envirofolder®, Independent®, Independent Checks®, Independent Folders®, Independent Large Format Solutions®, Wright Business GraphicsSM, Wright 360SM, Integrated Print & GraphicsSM, the Flesh CompanySM, MegaformSM, Safe®, InfosealSM, StylecraftSM, UMC PrintSM, Eagle GraphicsSM, Diamond GraphicsSM, Printing Technologies and variations of these brands as well as other trademarks. We have similar trademark registrations internationally for certain trademarks.

Customers

Our customer population includes one customer with 5.3% of our consolidated accounts receivables and no single customer account for as much as five percent of our consolidated net sales at fiscal year ended February 28, 2025. No single customer accounts for as much as five percent of our consolidated net sales or accounts receivables during fiscal years 2024 or 2023.

Backlog

At February 28, 2025, our backlog of firm orders was approximately $25.7 million, compared to approximately $33.7 million at February 29, 2024. The reduction in backlog from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2025 is due primarily to a combination of change in product mix requiring shorter lead times for ordering and reduction in sales volume.

Research and Development

While we seek new products to sell through our distribution channel, there have been no material amounts spent on research and development in fiscal years 2025, 2024 or 2023.

Environment

We are subject to various federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations concerning, among other things, wastewater discharges, air emissions and solid waste disposal. Our manufacturing processes do not emit substantial foreign substances into the environment. We do not believe that our compliance with federal, state, or local statutes or regulations relating to the protection of the environment has any material effect upon capital expenditures, earnings or our competitive position. There can be no assurance, however, that future changes in federal, state, or local regulations, interpretations of existing regulations or the discovery of currently unknown problems or conditions will not require substantial additional expenditures. Similarly, the extent of our liability, if any, for past failures to comply with laws, regulations, and permits applicable to our operations cannot be determined.

Environmental Stewardship

Ennis respects the environment and makes all attempts to protect our natural resources. We believe we comply with all laws and regulations regarding the use and preservation of our land, air, and water. This principle has been part of our Code of Conduct since 2005. Our goal of operating in an environmentally responsible manner aligns with our goals of operating a profitable and responsible business. For example, we recycle waste material generated in our printing processes to generate income from selling the scrap material. We recycled 21.1 million pounds of paper and 1.1 million pounds of cardboard and cores in fiscal year 2025. Additionally, the use of soy-based inks allow us to avoid cleaning solutions that may pose environmental hazards. We use environmentally friendly cleaning agents to insure that our wastewater is not contaminated and does not require special disposal.

Many of our plants engage with local energy suppliers to ask for recommendations on lowering energy usage. Participation in these energy audits generally results in replacing old lighting with more efficient LED lighting. Additionally, newer digital technology, which we have implemented in several of our locations, relies on less energy than older web-based presses due to shorter runs and ink jet technology.

Another aspect of our business model which reduces carbon emissions is the reduction in transportation costs for our employees, as well as our customers. A number of our facilities are located in small towns where the employees have a short commute, and travel time is minimal. Our geographical dispersion reduces the amount of transportation time and distance associated with delivering our products to our customers. Likewise, we use third party transportation and logistical companies to pick up and deliver our products. Partnering with larger shipping organizations that have the scale to be more resourceful and implement more energy efficient delivery methods enables us to ship our products in an efficient and effective manner.

Our primary supplier of paper is vital to our business as they supply raw materials that are minimally altered during the production process. Our primary supplier is SFI, FSC and PEFC certified. The SFI Forest Management Standard covers key values such as protection of biodiversity, species at risk and wildlife habitat; sustainable harvest levels; protection of water quality; and prompt regeneration. FSC certification ensures that that paper we buy from SFI comes from responsibly-managed forests that provide environmental, social and economic benefits. PEFC cares for forests globally and locally. They work to protect our forests by promoting sustainable forest management through certification. This means that all can benefit from the many paper products that forests provide now, while ensuring these forests will be around for generations to come. The Company’s primary paper supplier ensures that all of their supply chain materials are sourced with similar accredited suppliers allowing for more transparency and a more trustworthy supplier commitment to quality, safety and the protection of our natural resources.

Additionally, we use material safety sheets which outline potential hazardous materials so as to minimize the use of more hazardous materials. Given the low and de minimis use of these potentially hazardous materials, our plants generally fit in the lowest category of reporting standards to various state and local environmental agencies. The Company requires facility managers to minimize the use or site storage of any hazardous chemicals. Two thirds of our facilities are categorized as Very Small Quantity Generators and one third are considered Small Quantity Generators under the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) hazardous waste regulations. Any hazardous waste generated is stored and properly disposed of in compliance with all EPA regulations and permits.

Two of our largest facilities have solvent recovery systems which allows the recovery of press plate washing solutions for re-use. These systems result in a substantial reduction of any hazardous waste. The Company ensures that we are in compliance with applicable state and federal environmental laws on hazardous materials including Proposition 65 in California and federal Conflict Minerals compliance.

Attention to choice of material suppliers, transportation partners, energy usage and avoidance of hazardous wastes that might impact wastewater disposal, are part of the business model that improves or avoids damage to the environment we live and work in.

Human Capital

At February 28, 2025, we had 1,856 employees. 157 employees are represented by labor unions under collective bargaining agreements, which are subject to periodic negotiations. We believe we have a good working relationship with our employees and all of the unions that represent our employees.

Social Responsibility

Equal Employment Opportunity: Ennis promotes a cooperative and productive work environment by supporting the cultural and ethnic diversity of its workforce and is committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all qualified employees and applicants. Pursuant to our Code of Conduct adopted in 2005 and reviewed at least annually, we do not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, marital status, age, disability, or veteran status in any personnel practice, including recruitment, hiring, training, promotion, and discipline. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and we comply with all employment laws including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Immigration and Nationality Act, and the Immigration Reform and Control Act. We take allegations of harassment and unlawful discrimination seriously and address all such concerns that are raised regarding our Code of Conduct.

Safety and Health: A safe and clean work environment is important to the well-being of all Ennis employees. Ennis complies with applicable safety and health regulations and appropriate practices. Throughout the year facilities are reviewed monthly to determine if the accidents/injuries that occurred could have been avoided. Incidents are reviewed to determine measures that can be taken to prevent reoccurrence of claims at that facility or another facility. A monthly Facility Report is sent to all facilities reminding them about safety issues and certain claims that have occurred in other locations. Annually, facilities are required to submit an audit of compliance with mandated OSHA safety programs. Facilities that have higher than normal claims are worked with directly or visited by a business director or a representative from our workers’ compensation carrier. Protocols and trainings are in place to protect the health and safety of all our employees. Safety audits are completed throughout the organization. The Company strictly monitors safety issues in all of our facilities, and each facility has someone in charge of review and training of employees on safety issues. Consistent with our culture of promoting workplace safety, our plants take pride in detailing the amount of time since the last safety incident and strive to maintain the lack of an occurrence.

Ennis is dedicated to ensuring that business is conducted ethically. All Ennis management must read, agree with, and sign a Code of Conduct and Ethics policy at least annually.

Each of our locations support local non-profit organizations, educational institutions and youth sport teams based on their local community needs. The majority of our locations are located in suburban or rural communities where the plant is a major employer and supporter of the local economy. Some examples include Midlothian Educational Foundation (Ennis is a founding member), Project Graduation, Toys for Tots, Angel Trees, United Way fundraisers, and youth sport team sponsorships. Additional support includes in-kind donations, volunteer hours and financial support for various local organizations.

Available Information

Our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 are available free of charge under the Investors Relations page on our website, www.ennis.com (http://www.ennis.com), as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Information on our website is not included as a part of, or incorporated by reference into, this report. Our SEC filings are also available through the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov (http://www.sec.gov).

You should carefully consider the risks described below, as well as the other information included or incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, before making an investment in our common stock. The risks described below are not the only ones we face in our business. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial may also impair our business operations. If any of the following risks occur, our business, financial condition or operating results could be materially harmed. In such an event, our common stock could decline in price and you may lose all or part of your investment.

Risks related to our business and operations

Our results and financial condition are affected by global and local market conditions, competitors’ pricing strategies, and risks due to new or increased tariffs, which can adversely affect our sales, margins, and net income.

Our results of operations can be affected by local, national and worldwide market conditions. The consequences of domestic and international economic uncertainty or instability, volatility in commodity markets, and domestic or international policy uncertainty, all of which we have seen in the past, can all impact economic activity. Unfavorable conditions can depress the demand for our products and thus sales in a given market and may prompt competitor’s pricing strategies that adversely affect our margins or constrain our operating flexibility. Certain macroeconomic events, such as crises in the financial markets, inflation, high interest rates, tariffs, recessionary concerns, cost and labor pressures, distribution challenges and the availability of paper could have a more wide-ranging and prolonged impact on the general business environment, which could also adversely affect us. Whether we can manage these risks effectively depends on several factors, including (i) our ability to manage movements in commodity prices and the impact of government actions to manage national economic conditions such as consumer spending, inflation rates and unemployment levels, particularly given the past volatility in the global financial markets, (ii) the impact on our margins of labor costs given our labor-intensive business model, the trend toward higher wages in both mature and developing markets and the potential impact of union organizing efforts on day-to-day operations of our manufacturing facilities and (iii) other factors, which may be beyond our control.

Digital technologies will continue to erode the demand for our printed business documents.

The printing industry continues to experience weakening demand for printed products. The increasing sophistication of software, internet technologies, and digital equipment combined with our customers’ general preference and digital substitutions, as well as governmental influences for paperless business environments will continue to reduce the number of traditional printed documents sold. Moreover, the documents that will continue to coexist with software applications will likely contain less value-added print content.

Increasing postal rates make direct mail campaigns more expensive, potentially leading our customers to reduce their demand for our products and shift to alternative marketing channels. Many of our custom-printed documents help companies control their internal business processes and facilitate the flow of information. These applications will increasingly be conducted over the internet or through other electronic payment systems. The predominant method of our customers’ communication with their customers is by printed information. As their customers become more accepting of internet communications, our customers may increasingly opt for what is perceived to be a less costly electronic option, which would reduce our revenue. The pace of these trends is difficult to predict. These factors will tend to reduce the industry-wide demand for printed documents and require us to gain market share to maintain or increase our current level of print-based revenue which could place pressure on our operating margins.

In response to the gradual obsolescence of our standardized business forms, we continue to develop our capability to provide custom and full-color products. If new printing capabilities and new product introductions do not continue to offset the obsolescence of our standardized business forms products and we are unable to increase our market share, our sales and profits will be affected. Decreases in sales of our standardized business forms and products due to obsolescence could also reduce our gross margins or impact the value of our recorded goodwill and intangible assets. This reduction could in turn adversely impact our profits, unless we are able to offset the reduction through the introduction of new high margin products and services or realize cost savings in other areas.

We obtain our raw materials from a limited number of suppliers, and any disruption in our relationships with these suppliers, or any substantial increase in the price of raw materials or material shortages could have a material adverse effect on us.

We currently purchase a large majority of our paper products (a significant input to our print products) from one major supplier at favorable costs based on our high volume of business with this supplier relative to our competitors. Traditionally we have purchased our paper products from a limited number of suppliers, all of which must meet stringent quality and on-time delivery standards under long-term contracts. The closing of paper mills as recently announced would reduce capacity, potentially increasing prices and require us to seek alternative suppliers. We predominantly purchase our other raw materials from domestic suppliers but may be required to source from international suppliers if our domestic suppliers are unable to meet our supply requirements. Fluctuations in the quality of our paper commodity, unexpected price changes, decline in overall distribution channels or other factors that relate to our suppliers could have a material adverse effect on our operating results.

Paper is a commodity that is subject to frequent increases or decreases in price, and these fluctuations are sometimes significant. The prices for paper and many of our raw materials have been volatile and may continue to increase due to overall inflationary pressure and global market conditions. We believe there is no effective market of derivative instruments to insulate us against unexpected changes in price of paper in a cost-effective manner and negotiated purchase contracts provide only limited protection against price increases. Generally, when paper prices increase, we attempt to recover the higher costs by raising the prices of our products to our customers. In the price-competitive marketplaces in which we operate, however, we may not always be able to pass through any or all of the higher costs. As such, any significant increase in the price of paper or shortage in its availability could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Challenging financial market conditions and changes in long-term interest rates could adversely impact the funded status of our pension plan.

We maintain a noncontributory defined benefit retirement plan (the “Pension Plan”) covering approximately 12% of our employees. As of February 28, 2025, the Pension Plan was 103% funded on a projected benefit obligation ("PBO") basis and 109% on an accumulated benefit obligation ("ABO") basis. Included in our financial results are Pension Plan costs that are measured using actuarial valuations. The actuarial assumptions used may differ from actual results. In addition, as our Pension Plan assets are invested in marketable securities, fluctuations in market values can negatively impact our funded status, recorded pension liability and future required minimum contribution levels. A decline in long-term interest rates puts downward pressure on the discount rate used by plan sponsors to determine their pension liabilities. Each 10-basis point change in the discount rate impacts our computed pension liability by approximately $0.5 million. Similar to fluctuations in market values, a drop in the discount rate can negatively impact our funded status, recorded pension liability and future contribution levels. Also, continued changes in the mortality assumptions can impact our funded status. Additionally, as we experienced in recent years, the number of participants taking lump sum distributions at retirement could be sufficiently high as to cause a settlement charge, which would impact current earnings of the Pension Plan.

We may be unable to identify or to complete acquisitions or to successfully integrate the businesses we acquire.

We have evaluated, and may continue to evaluate, potential acquisition transactions. We attempt to address the potential risks inherent in assessing the attractiveness of acquisition candidates, as well as other challenges such as retaining the employees and integrating the operations of the businesses we acquire. Integrating acquired operations involves significant risks and uncertainties, including maintenance of uniform standards, controls, policies and procedures; diversion of management’s attention from normal business operations during the integration process; unplanned expenses associated with integration efforts; and unidentified issues not discovered in due diligence, including legal contingencies. Due to these risks and others, there can be no guarantee that the businesses we acquire will lead to the cost savings or increases in net sales that we expect or desire. Additionally, there can be no assurance that suitable acquisition opportunities will be available in the future, which could harm our strategic business plan as acquisitions are part of our strategy to offset normal print attrition.

Our distributor customers may be acquired by other manufacturers who redirect business within their plants.

Some of our customers are being absorbed by the distribution channels of some of our manufacturing competitors. However, we do not believe this will significantly impact our business model. We have continued to sell to some of these customers even after they were absorbed by our competition because of the breadth of our product line and our geographic diversity.

Our distributors face increased competition from various sources, such as office supply superstores. Increased competition may require us to reduce prices or to offer other incentives in order to enable our distributors to attract new customers and retain existing customers.

Low price, high value office supply chain stores offer standardized business forms, checks and related products. Because of their size, these superstores have the buying power to offer many of these products at competitive prices. These superstores also offer the convenience of “one-stop” shopping for a broad array of office supplies that our distributors do not offer. In addition, superstores have the financial strength to reduce prices or increase promotional discounts to expand market share. This could result in us reducing our prices or offering incentives in order to enable our distributors to attract new customers and retain existing customers, which could reduce our profits.

We could experience labor disputes, labor shortages and increases in cost of labor that could disrupt our business in the future and impact operating results.

As of February 28, 2025, approximately 8% of our employees are represented by labor unions under collective bargaining agreements, which are subject to periodic negotiations. While we believe we have a good working relationship with all of the unions, there can be no assurance that any future labor negotiations will prove successful, which may result in a significant increase in the cost of labor, or may break down and result in the disruption of our business or operations.

We have faced a tight labor market due to competitive wage increases, labor shortages and turnover. Labor shortages and rising labor-related costs could adversely impact our earnings.

We face intense competition to gain market share, which may lead some competitors to sell substantial amounts of goods at prices against which we cannot profitably compete.

Our marketing strategy is to differentiate ourselves by providing quality service and quality products to our customers. Even if this strategy is successful, the results may be offset by reductions in demand or price declines due to competitors’ pricing strategies or other micro or macro-economic factors. We face the risk of our competition following a strategy of selling its products at or below cost in order to cover some amount of fixed costs, especially in stressed economic times.

Environmental regulations may impact our future operating results.

We are subject to extensive and changing federal, state and foreign laws and regulations establishing health and environmental quality standards, concerning, among other things, wastewater discharges, air emissions and solid waste disposal, and may be subject to liability or penalties for violations of those standards. We are also subject to laws and regulations governing remediation of contamination at facilities currently or formerly owned or operated by us or to which we have sent hazardous substances or wastes for treatment, recycling or disposal. We may be subject to future liabilities or obligations as a result of new or more stringent interpretations of existing laws and regulations. In addition, we may have liabilities or obligations in the future if we discover any environmental contamination or liability at any of our facilities, or at the facilities we may acquire.

Changes in U.S. tariff and trade policy could adversely affect our business.

We are monitoring changes and potential changes to U.S. tariff and trade policies under the current Presidential administration, along with reciprocal tariffs or other countermeasures imposed or that may be imposed by other countries in response. The current environment is dynamic and uncertain, as the U.S. President has imposed, modified and paused tariffs, and granted exemptions from tariffs, on different countries and products multiple times since taking office in January 2025. Changing U.S. tariff and trade policies could cause higher inflation, higher interest rates and slower economic growth or recession in the U.S. We predominantly purchase our other raw materials from domestic suppliers but may be required to source from international suppliers if our domestic suppliers are unable to meet our supply requirements. Our domestic suppliers may incur tariffs leading to increased prices. These changes and uncertainties regarding future changes could result in higher costs to our business and impact demand from our customers. These factors could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We are subject to taxation related risks.

We are subject to U.S. federal income tax as well as income tax of multiple state jurisdictions. Applicable tax rates and the jurisdictions within which we operate can vary and therefore our effective tax rate may be adversely affected by changes in the mix of our earnings by jurisdiction. We may be subject to audits of our income, sales and other transaction taxes by U.S. federal and state authorities. Outcomes from these audits could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Income, sales or other tax laws are dynamic and subject to change as new laws are passed and new interpretations of the law are applied. Most recently, on August 16, 2022, legislation commonly known as the Inflation Reduction Act (the "IRA") was signed into law. Among other things, the IRA includes a 1% excise tax on certain corporate stock repurchases, applicable to repurchases after December 31, 2022, and also a new minimum tax based on book income. Following the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision in South Dakota v Wayfair, states may require an out-of-state seller with no physical presence in the state to collect and remit sales tax on goods the seller ships to consumers in the state. While the company now collects, remits and reports sales tax in states that it does business in, the adoption of new laws by taxing authorities could create significant increases in internal cost necessary to capture data, collect and remit tax. All of these factors and uncertainties may adversely affect our results of operations, financial position and cash flows.

We are exposed to the risk of non-payment by our customers on a significant amount of our sales.

Our extension of credit involves considerable judgment and is based on an evaluation of each customer’s financial condition and payment history. We monitor our credit risk exposure by periodically obtaining credit reports and updated financials on our customers. We generally see a heightened amount of bankruptcies by our customers during economic downturns. While we maintain an allowance for credit losses based upon our historical trends and other available information, in times of economic turmoil, there is heightened risk that our historical indicators may prove to be inaccurate. The inability to collect on sales to significant customers or a group of customers could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Our business incurs significant freight and transportation costs.

We incur transportation expenses to ship our products to our customers. Significant increases in the costs of freight and transportation could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, as there can be no assurance that we could pass on these increased costs to our customers. Government regulations can and have impacted the availability of drivers, which will be a significant challenge to the transportation industry. Costs to employ drivers have increased and transportation shortages have become more prevalent. Additionally, the challenge of employing new drivers for the increasingly larger web-based economy could create shortages in trucks and drivers which could impact our sales.

A natural disaster, catastrophe, pandemic or other unexpected events could adversely affect our operations.

The occurrence of one or more unexpected events, including war, acts of terrorism or violence, civil unrest, epidemics or pandemics, fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and other forms of severe weather in the United States could adversely affect our operations and financial performance. Although we maintain third party insurance against various liability risks and risks of property loss for items we believe are economically reasonable to insure, we could incur uninsured losses and liabilities arising from such events which would adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

We depend on the reliability of our information technology ("IT") and network infrastructure as well as those of third parties. If these systems fail, our operations may be adversely affected.

We depend on IT and data processing systems to operate our business, and a significant malfunction or disruption in the operation of our systems may disrupt our business and adversely affect our ability to operate and compete in the markets we serve. This could take various forms, including through the injection of ransomware on our IT infrastructure rendering it inoperable without the payment of some form of cyber currency. These systems include systems that we own and operate, as well as systems of our vendors or other third parties. Such systems are susceptible to ransomware attacks, malfunctions, interruptions and phishing scams, for example. We also periodically upgrade and install new systems, which if installed or programmed incorrectly, may cause significant disruptions. These disruptions could interrupt our operations and adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Increasing global cybersecurity attacks and regulatory focus on privacy and security issues could impact our business, expose us to increased liability, subject us to lawsuits, investigations and other liabilities and restrictions on our operations that could significantly and adversely affect our business.

Along with our own data and information in the normal course of our business, we and our customers and partners collect and retain significant volumes of certain types of data, some of which are subject to specific laws and regulations. Complying with varying jurisdictional requirements is becoming increasingly complex and could increase the costs and difficulty of compliance, and violations of applicable data protection laws. Many of our clients provide us with information they consider confidential or sensitive, and many of our clients' industries have established standards for safeguarding the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information relating to their businesses and customers. Data stored in our systems or available through web portals is susceptible to cybercrime or intentional disruption, which have increased globally across all industries in terms of sophistication and frequency. Disclosure of data maintained on our network, a security breach of our systems or other similar events may damage our reputation, subject us to regulatory enforcement action, third party litigation and cause significant reputational or financial harm for our clients and partners. Any of these outcomes may adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

As previously disclosed, the Company was targeted with an encryption ransomware attack on November 30, 2022. The Company eliminated the ransomware and restored its systems. Since then, the Company has implemented additional security measures to make it more difficult for an outside agent to gain access to our network, such as a multifactor authentication (MFA) protocol and a robust firewall to strengthen the Company's network. Despite us improving our information technology general controls, we cannot give any assurances that the Company will not become the subject of a future more sophisticated, or more harmful attack.

Increases in the cost of employee benefits could impact our financial results and cash flow.

Our expenses relating to employee health benefits are significant. Unfavorable changes in the cost of such benefits could impact our financial results and cash flow. Healthcare costs have risen significantly in recent years, and recent legislative and private sector initiatives regarding healthcare reform could result in significant changes to the U.S. healthcare system. While the Company has various cost control measures in place and employs an outside oversight review on larger claims, employee health benefits have been and are expected to continue to be a significant cost to us and may increase due to factors outside the Company’s control.

Risks related to our securities

Because of the volatility in the stock market in general, the market price of our Common Stock will also likely be volatile.

The stock markets have historically experienced price and volume fluctuations that at times have been extreme and have affected, and continue to affect, the market prices of equity securities of many companies. These fluctuations have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. Broad market and industry fluctuations, as well as general economic, political, regulatory and market conditions, may negatively impact the market price of our common stock. If the market price of our Class A common stock falls below your investment price, you may lose some or all of your investment. In the past, companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their securities have been subject to securities class action litigation. We may be the target of this type of litigation in the future, which could result in substantial costs and divert our management's attention.

We believe that cybersecurity is important to maintaining the trust of our customers and employees. We have implemented a cybersecurity risk management program that is designed to identify, assess, manage, mitigate, and respond to cybersecurity threats which could adversely affect the confidentiality of our data and the integrity of our business operations and financial systems. Our cybersecurity program is based on best practices and guidelines of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework. We have company-wide policies and procedures in place that further enhance our ability to identify and manage cybersecurity risk.

Annual risk assessments and penetration testing are performed by independent third party consultants. These tests are useful tools for maintaining a robust cybersecurity program to protect our investors, customers, employees, vendors, and intellectual property. The results of these tests are presented annually to the Board of Directors ("Board"), Audit Committee, and senior management for review to ensure compliance with cybersecurity standards.

During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2025, we have not identified any risks from cybersecurity threats that have materially affected our business operations or financial conditions.

Governance

Our Board of Directors, Audit Committee and senior management oversee risk management to ensure that the Company's policies and procedures are functioning as intended to protect the Company’s information systems from cybersecurity threats. The Audit Committee performs an annual review and discussion of the Company’s cybersecurity program, which includes planned actions in the event of a threat or recovery situation.

Our IT team is led by the Director of Information Technology and is responsible for regular assessment and management of cybersecurity risks. The Director of Information Technology has constant access to the Audit Committee to provide regular updates as necessary regarding any new developments.

We view cybersecurity as a shared responsibility of the Audit Committee and the IT team led by the Director of Information Technology, and we incorporate external resources and advisors as needed to conduct evaluations of our security controls through penetration testing, independent audits and consulting on best practices. The results of those tests are presented annually to the Board.

Our corporate headquarters are located in Midlothian, Texas, and we operate manufacturing facilities throughout the United States. See the table below for additional information regarding our locations.

All of our properties are used for the production, warehousing and shipping of business products, including the following: business forms, flexographic printing, and advertising specialties (Wolfe City, Texas); presentation products (Macomb, Michigan; De Pere, Wisconsin and Columbus, Kansas); printed and electronic promotional media (Columbus, Kansas); envelopes (Portland, Oregon; Columbus, Kansas; Tullahoma, Tennessee and Claysburg, Pennsylvania); financial forms (Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; Nevada, Iowa and Bridgewater, Virginia); statement printing and mailing (Roanoke, Virginia; Arlington, Texas; South Elgin, Illinois, and Overland Park, Kansas); kiosk media, thermal, ATM, and pay station receipts (Indianapolis, Indiana); and pressure seal products (Roanoke, Virginia and Clarksville, Tennessee).

Our plants are operated at production levels required to meet our forecasted customer demands. Production levels fluctuate with market demands and depend upon the product mix at any given point in time. Equipment is added as existing machinery becomes obsolete or not repairable, and as new equipment becomes necessary to meet market demands; however, at any given time, these additions and replacements are not considered to be material additions to property, plant and equipment, although such additions or replacements may increase a plant’s efficiency or capacity.

All of our facilities are believed to be in good condition. We do not anticipate that substantial expansion, refurbishing, or re-equipping of our facilities will be required in the near future.

All of our rented property is held under leases with original terms of one or more years, expiring at various times through March 2030. Some leases include options to renew at our discretion. Generally, we are able to maintain or renew leases as they expire without significant difficulty, but leases in certain markets may be subject to significant rent increases that necessitate consolidating operations to maintain profitability.

* 22,000 square feet of Ennis, Texas location leased

** The Company exited the lease facility and is actively looking to sublease the remaining noncancellable lease term through July 2027.

From time to time we are involved in various litigation matters arising in the ordinary course of our business. We do not believe the disposition of any current matter will have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position or results of operations.

In October 2023, Crabar/GBF, Inc., a subsidiary of Ennis, was awarded $5.8 million in actual damages, exemplary damages and attorney’s fees in a case against Wright Printing Company, its owner Mark Wright, and CEO Mardra Sikora. Given the defendants’ pending appeal, we have not yet recognized a contingent gain from the October 2023 judgment. Nevertheless, the defendants have posted cash bonds that total approximately $5.1 million, which should be recoverable by the Company if defendants’ appeal is unsuccessful.

Ennis and one of its subsidiaries are defendants in a lawsuit in Arizona concerning the lease of the former B&D Litho facility that was closed in 2019. The plaintiff landlord generally alleges that the defendants failed to maintain the leased premises in good condition. The landlord seeks more than $4.0 million in repair costs and other consequential damages even though the landlord sold the facility without making the supposedly necessary repairs. The Company has denied the landlord’s allegations and is vigorously contesting the landlord’s unreasonable claim. The Court has made a preliminary ruling that defendants failed to maintain the facility’s air conditioning equipment, paved surfaces and roof in good condition even though the landlord had assumed responsibility for some of those maintenance obligations. The Company has accrued a liability reserve of approximately $0.4 million related to this claim. The case will not be tried until the first calendar quarter of 2026.

This Management’s Discussion and Analysis provides material historical and prospective disclosures intended to enable investors and other users to assess our financial condition and results of operations. Statements that are not historical are forward-looking and involve risk and uncertainties, including those discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and elsewhere in this Report. You should read this discussion and analysis in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and the related notes appearing elsewhere in this Report. The words “anticipate,” “preliminary,” “expect,” “believe,” “intend” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. We believe these forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions. All such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and as a result, actual results could differ materially from those projected, anticipated, or implied by these statements.

In view of such uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements since such statements may prove to be inaccurate and speak only as of the date when made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

This Management’s Discussion and Analysis covers the continuing operations of the Company, which are comprised of the production and sale of business forms and other business products. This Management’s Discussion and Analysis includes the following sections:

• Overview – An overall discussion regarding our Company, the business challenges and opportunities we believe are key to our success, and our plans for facing these challenges relating to our continuing operations.
• Critical Accounting Estimates – A discussion of the accounting policies that require our most critical judgments and estimates relating to our continuing operations. This discussion provides insight into the level of subjectivity, quality, and variability involved in these judgments and estimates. This section also provides a summary of recently adopted and recently issued accounting pronouncements that have or may materially affect our business.
• Results of Operations – An analysis of our consolidated results of operations and segment results for the three years presented in our Consolidated Financial Statements. This analysis discusses material trends within our continuing business and provides important information necessary for an understanding of our continuing operating results.
• Liquidity and Capital Resources – An analysis of our cash flows and a discussion of our financial condition and contractual obligations. This section provides information necessary to evaluate our ability to generate cash and to meet existing and known future cash requirements over both the short and long term.

References to 2025, 2024 and 2023 refer to the fiscal years ended February 28, 2025, February 29, 2024 and February 28, 2023, respectively.

Overview

The Company – Our management believes we are the largest provider of business forms, pressure-seal forms, labels, tags, envelopes, and presentation folders to independent distributors in the United States.

Our Business Challenges – Our industry is currently experiencing consolidation of traditional supply channels, product obsolescence, paper supplier capacity adjustments, and increased pricing and potential supply allocations due to demand/supply curve imbalance. Technology advances have made electronic distribution of documents, internet hosting, digital printing and print-on-demand valid, cost-effective alternatives to traditional custom-printed documents and customer communications. Improved equipment has become more accessible to our competitors. We face highly competitive conditions throughout our supply chain in an already over-supplied, price-competitive print industry. In addition to the risk factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of this Annual Report, some of the key challenges of our business include the following:

Transformation of our portfolio of products – While traditional business documents are essential in order to conduct business, many are being replaced through the use of cheaper paper grades or imported paper, or devalued with advances in digital technologies, causing steady declines in demand for a portion of our current product line. Transforming our product offerings in order to continue to provide innovative, valuable solutions through lower labor and fixed charges to our customers on a proactive basis will require us to make investments in new and existing technology and to develop key strategic business relationships, such as print-on-demand services and product offerings that assist customers in their transition to digital business environments. In addition, we will continue to look for new market opportunities and niches through acquisitions, such as the addition of our envelope offerings, tag offerings, folder offerings, healthcare wristbands, specialty packaging, direct mail, pressure seal products, secure document solutions, innovative in-mold label offerings and long-run integrated products with high color web printing, which provide us with an opportunity for growth and differentiate us from our competition. The ability to make investments in new and existing technology and/or to acquire new market opportunities through acquisitions is dependent on the Company’s liquidity and operational results.

Production capacity and price competition within our industry – Industry supply of paper products is subject to fluctuation as changing industry conditions have and will continue to influence producers to idle or permanently close individual machines or mills, and or convert them to different product lines, such as packaging to offset a decline in demand. Recently, there have been consolidations of paper suppliers and mill closure announcements which may cause the paper prices to fluctuate substantially in the future. The only domestic source of carbonless paper announced that it is closing its factory. We intend to build a surplus of inventory as buffer inventory until we transition to other sources. While margins remain under pressure due to the resulting weak volumes, we continue to focus on effectively managing and controlling our product costs through the use of forecasting, production and costing models, as well as working closely with our suppliers to reduce our procurement costs, in order to minimize effects on our operational results. In addition, we will continue to look for ways to reduce and leverage our fixed costs and focus on maintaining our margins.

Continued consolidation of our customers – Our customers are distributors, many of which are consolidating or are being acquired by competitors. We continue to maintain a majority of the business we have had with our customers historically, but it is possible that these consolidations and acquisitions, which we expect to continue in the future, ultimately will impact our margins and sales.

Critical Accounting Estimates

In preparing our Consolidated Financial Statements, we are required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the disclosures and reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the Consolidated Financial Statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. We evaluate our estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis, including those related to allowance for credit losses, inventory valuations, property, plant and equipment, intangible assets, pension plan obligations, accrued liabilities and income taxes. We base our estimates and judgments on historical experience and on various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. We believe the following accounting estimates are the most critical due to the application of significant subjective assumptions and judgments in the preparation of such estimates, which are included in our Consolidated Financial Statements.

Pension Plan – We maintain the Pension Plan for certain eligible employees. Included in our financial results are Pension Plan costs that are measured using actuarial valuations and require the use of a number of significant assumptions. Changes in these assumptions can result in different expense and liability amounts and future actual pension cost experience and funding requirements may differ materially from current estimates.

As our Pension Plan assets are invested in marketable securities, fluctuations in market values could potentially impact our Pension Plan funding status and associated liability recorded. The expected rate of return on assets was 5.50% and 6.00% at February 28, 2025 and February 29, 2024, respectively.

Similar to fluctuations in market values, a drop in the discount rate could potentially negatively impact our Pension Plan's funded status, recorded pension liability and future contribution levels with the opposite impact occurring for an increase in the discount rate. During fiscal years 2024 and 2025, the discount rate used to determine the net pension obligations for purposes of our Consolidated Financial Statements was 5.15%. The discount rate is reviewed by management annually and is adjusted to reflect movements in the average Mercer and FTSE (formerly Citigroup) pension yield curves for mature pension plans with duration of about 12-15 years. The Company estimated the duration of its pension benefit obligation ("PBO") to be approximately 12-15 years. Each 10-basis point change in the discount rate impacts our computed pension liability by about $0.5 million.

Also, continued changes in the mortality assumptions could potentially impact our Pension Plan's funded status. For the February 28, 2025 measurement, no change was made to the mortality assumption. The mortality assumption is used to estimate the future lifetime of plan participants. Any actual impact on the Pension Plan from the higher than expected mortality has already been recognized in the underlying participant data used to measure the pension liability. The impact on future longevity is still being studied, and there is a general expectation that the current population is a healthier cohort such that mortality rates may return to pre-pandemic levels. This assumption will continue to be monitored.

Impairment Assessments on Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets – Amounts allocated to intangibles and goodwill are determined based on valuation analyses for our acquisitions. Amortizable intangibles are amortized over their expected useful lives. We evaluate these amounts periodically (at least once a year) to determine whether a triggering event has occurred during the year that would indicate potential impairment.

We assess goodwill for impairment annually as of December 1, or more frequently if impairment indicators are present. The Company uses qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not (likelihood of more than 50%) that the fair value of its single reporting unit exceeds its carrying amount, including goodwill. Some of the qualitative factors considered in applying this test include consideration of macroeconomic conditions, industry and market conditions, cost factors affecting the reporting unit’s business, overall financial performance of the business, and performance of the common share price of the Company. If qualitative factors are not deemed sufficient to conclude that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, then a one-step quantitative approach is applied in making an evaluation. The quantitative evaluation utilizes multiple valuation methodologies, including a market approach (market price multiples of comparable companies) and an income approach (discounted cash flow analysis). The computations require management to make significant estimates and assumptions, including, among other things, selection of comparable publicly traded companies, an appropriate discount rate applied to future earnings reflecting a weighted average cost of capital, and earnings growth assumptions. A discounted cash flow analysis requires management to make various assumptions about future sales, operating margins, capital expenditures, working capital and growth rates. If the quantitative evaluation results in the fair value of the reporting unit being lower than the carrying value, an impairment charge is recorded. A goodwill impairment charge was not required for the fiscal years ended February 28, 2025 or February 29, 2024.

Allowance for Credit Losses and Accounts Receivable – Net sales consist of gross sales invoiced to customers, less certain related charges, including discounts, returns and other allowances. Our allowance for credit losses is based on an analysis that estimates the amount of our total customers receivable balance that is not collectible. This analysis includes assessing a default probability to customers’ receivable balances, which is influenced by several factors including (i) current market conditions, (ii) periodic review of customer credit worthiness, and (iii) review of customer receivable aging and payment trends. While we believe we have exercised prudent judgment and applied reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that in the future, changes in economic conditions or other factors would not cause changes in the financial health of our customers. If the financial health of our customers deteriorates, the timing and level of payments received could be impacted and therefore, could result in a change to our estimated losses. Returns, discounts and other allowances have historically been insignificant.

Allowance for Excess and Obsolete Inventories – With the exception of approximately 7.1% and 7.0% of inventories valued using the lower of last-in, first-out ("LIFO") cost flow assumption for fiscal years 2025 and 2024, respectively, our inventories are valued at the lower of cost or net realizable value as is required under U.S. GAAP when we follow the first-in-first-out cost flow assumption (“FIFO”). We regularly review inventory values on hand, using specific aging categories, and write down inventory deemed obsolete and/or slow-moving based on historical usage and estimated future usage to its estimated net realizable value. As actual future demand or market conditions may vary from those projected by management, adjustments to inventory valuations may be required. The allowance for excess and obsolete inventory at fiscal years ended 2025 and 2024 were $1.8 million and $1.7 million, respectively. The aged inventory allowance is recorded primarily to account for the decrease in market value of general stock inventory that is not manufactured to specific customer order. Inventory write offs were $0.1 million in each of the fiscal years ended 2025, 2024, and 2023.

Results of Operations

The following discussion provides information which we believe is relevant to understanding our results of operations and financial condition. The discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements and notes thereto. Unless otherwise indicated, this financial overview is for the continuing operations of the Company, which are comprised of the production and sales of business forms and other business products. The operating results of the Company for fiscal year 2025 and the comparative fiscal years 2024 and 2023 are included in the tables below.

Consolidated Summary

Net Sales. Our net sales were $394.6 million for fiscal year 2025, compared to $420.1 million for fiscal year 2024, a decrease of $25.5 million, or -6.1%, primarily due to a $38.7 million decrease in volume demand, partially offset by an approximately $13.2 million increase in revenues generated from our recent acquisitions. The print market overall continues to be fairly soft with competitive pricing pressures resulting in reduced volume.

Our net sales were $420.1 million for fiscal year 2024 compared to $431.8 million for fiscal year 2023, a decrease of $11.7 million or -2.7%, primarily due to a $32.9 million decrease in volume demand, partially offset by an approximately $21.2 million increase in revenues generated from three acquisitions during fiscal year 2024.

Cost of Goods Sold. As a result of decreased sales volume, our manufacturing costs decreased $17.4 million, or -5.9% from $294.8 million for fiscal year 2024 to $277.3 million for fiscal year 2025. Our gross profit was $117.3 million or 29.7% of sales for fiscal year 2025, compared to $125.3 million or 29.8% of sales for fiscal year 2024.

Our manufacturing costs decreased $6.0 million, or -2.0%, from $300.8 million for fiscal year 2023 to $294.8 million for fiscal year 2024. Our gross profit was $125.3 million or 29.8% of sales for fiscal year 2024, compared to $131.1 million or 30.3% for fiscal year 2023.

Selling, general, and administrative expenses. For fiscal year 2025, our selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses were $65.4 million compared to $68.8 million for fiscal year 2024, a decrease of $3.5 million, or -5.0% primarily as a result of reduction in executive incentive compensation expense. Our SG&A expense also decreased as a result of operational efficiencies. As a percentage of sales, SG&A increased slightly from 16.4% in fiscal year 2024 to 16.6% in fiscal year 2025.

Our SG&A expenses decreased approximately $2.0 million or -2.8%, from $70.8 million for fiscal year 2023 to $68.8 million for fiscal year 2024 primarily as a result of reduction in executive incentive compensation expense. As a percentage of sales, SG&A expenses remained flat at 16.4% in fiscal years 2024 and 2023.

(Gain) loss from disposal of assets. The $0.1 million gain from disposal of assets for fiscal 2025 is primarily from the sale of unused manufacturing equipment. The $0.1 million loss from disposal of assets for fiscal 2024 is primarily from the sale of unused manufacturing equipment. The $5.9 million gain from disposal of assets for fiscal 2023 is primarily from the sale of an unused manufacturing facility, $5.8 million, and $0.1 million of manufacturing equipment.

Income from operations. Primarily due to factors described above, our income from operations for fiscal year 2025 decreased $4.5 million to $52.0 million or 13.2% of net sales from $56.5 million or 13.4% of net sales for fiscal year 2024. Income from operations for fiscal year 2024 decreased $9.7 million to $56.5 million or 13.4% of net sales from $66.2 million or 15.3% of net sales for fiscal year 2023.

Other income (expense). Interest income for fiscal year 2025 was $4.9 million compared to $4.0 million in 2024 and $0.8 million in 2023. Our increase in interest income in 2025 was due to a higher average cash and investment balances in 2025 compared to 2024 and higher interest rates compared to 2023.

Our interest income is offset by other expense. Other expense for fiscal year 2025 was $1.4 million compared to $1.3 million for fiscal year 2024. Our increase in expense was from higher non-service cost components of net periodic benefit costs relating to pension expense in fiscal year 2024.

Other expense was $1.3 million for fiscal year 2024 compared to $2.0 million for fiscal year 2023. The decrease in expense was from lower non-service cost components of net periodic benefit costs relating to pension expense in fiscal year 2024.

Provision for income taxes. Our effective tax rates for fiscal years 2025, 2024 and 2023 were 27.5%, 28.0%, and 27.2%, respectively. The change in effective tax rate for fiscal year 2025 and 2024 was primarily the result of change in state apportionment.

Net earnings. Net earnings were $40.2 million, or $1.54 per diluted share for fiscal year 2025 as compared to $42.6 million or $1.64 per diluted share for fiscal year 2024. Net earnings were impacted by decreased revenues in fiscal year 2025. Net earnings were $42.6 million, or $1.64 per diluted share for fiscal year 2024 as compared to $47.3 million or $1.82 per diluted share for fiscal year 2023. Net earnings were impacted by decreased revenues in fiscal year 2024. Net earnings in fiscal year 2023 were impacted by a $5.8 million gain from disposal of assets that added $0.17 per share.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

We rely on our cash flows generated from operations to meet cash requirements of our business. The primary cash requirements of our business are payments to vendors in the normal course of business, capital expenditures, compensation and benefits for employees and the payment of dividends to our shareholders. We believe that our current cash balance of $67.0 million at February 28, 2025, short-term investments of $5.5 million and cash flows from operations are expected to be similar to prior years which should be adequate to cover the next twelve months and beyond of our operating and capital requirements. Our annual capital requirements to maintain our manufacturing property are expected to be within our historical levels of between $4.0 million and $7.0 million.

(Dollars in thousands)

Working Capital. Our working capital decreased $48.1 million or -28.7% from $167.6 million at February 29, 2024 to $119.4 million at February 28, 2025 primarily due to a special dividend of $65.0 million paid to Shareholders during the fiscal year 2025. Our current ratio, calculated by dividing our current assets by our current liabilities, decreased from 6.0 to 1.0 for fiscal year 2024 to 4.6 to 1.0 for fiscal year 2025. Our decrease in working capital primarily reflects the decrease in cash and short-term investments, $38.4 million, accounts receivable, $8.5 million, and inventory, $1.2 million. In addition, the $4.4 million note receivable was reclassified to long-term. The note receivable has been extended beyond the one-year maturity date due to regulatory delays in clearing the sold property for third-party financing. See Note 2.

Our working capital increased by approximately $12.2 million, or 7.9%, from $155.4 million at February 28, 2023 to $167.6 million at February 29, 2024. Our current ratio, calculated by dividing our current assets by our current liabilities, increased from 4.8 to 1.0 for fiscal year 2023 to 6.0 to 1.0 for fiscal year 2024. Our increase in working capital primarily reflects the increase in cash and short-term investments, $17.0 million, offset by the decrease in accounts receivable, $6.3 million, and inventory, $6.8 million, and the decrease in our accounts payable and accrued expense $7.0 million. We strategically reduced inventory levels to improve cash flow and the decrease in receivables is primarily a result of accelerating the timing of collections relative to fiscal year end.

Cash Flow Components

(Dollars in thousands)

Cash flows from operating activities. Cash provided by operating activities was $65.9 million for fiscal year 2025 (a decrease of $3.2 million compared to fiscal year 2024), $69.1 million for fiscal year 2024 (an increase of $22.3 million compared to fiscal year 2023) and $46.7 million for fiscal year 2023.

Our decreased operational cash flows in fiscal year 2025 compared to fiscal year 2024 was primarily the result of

a $6.1 million decrease from inventories, $0.7 million increase from our accounts receivable, offset by a $2.4 million decrease in earnings and $7.7 million decrease in payables and accrued expenses.

Our increased operational cash flows in fiscal year 2024 compared to fiscal year 2023 was primarily the result of a $16.9 million decrease from inventories, $18.1 million decrease from our accounts receivable, offset by a $4.7 decrease in earnings, $5.3 million decrease in payables and accrued expenses and a $5.9 million gain from disposal of assets during fiscal year 2023.

Cash flows from investing activities. Cash provided by investing activities was $13.2 million in fiscal year 2025 compared to $55.0 million cash used in investing activities in fiscal year 2024. During fiscal year 2025, $6.2 million was used to acquire businesses compared to $19.6 million in fiscal year 2024. During fiscal year 2025 we purchased approximately $10.1 million of U.S. government treasury bills, which was partially offset by $35.0 million in matured treasury bills and invested in money market funds. We purchased $31.4 million of U.S. government treasury bills during fiscal year 2024, which was partially offset by $2.5 million in matured treasury bills.

Cash flows from financing activities. We used $67.2 million more cash in financing activities during fiscal year 2025 compared to fiscal year 2024. The increase in cash used during fiscal year 2025 resulted from a one-time special dividend of $2.50 per share or $65.0 million and a $1.8 million common stock repurchase under our stock repurchase program. Cash used in financing activities was $93.7 million in fiscal year 2025 compared to $26.4 million in fiscal year 2024 and $27.0 million used in fiscal year 2023.

Stock Repurchase – The Board has authorized the repurchase of the Company’s outstanding common stock through a stock repurchase program, which authorized amount is currently up to $60.0 million in the aggregate. Under the repurchase program, purchases may be made from time to time in the open market or through privately-negotiated transactions, depending on market conditions, share price, trading volume and other factors. Repurchases may be commenced or suspended at any time or from time to time without prior notice, provided that any purchases must be made in accordance with applicable insider trading rules and securities laws and regulations. Since the program’s inception in October 2008, we have repurchased 2,334,344 common shares under the program at an average price of $16.47 per share. During our fiscal year 2025, we repurchased 91,883 shares of common stock at an average price of $19.79 per share. As of February 28, 2025, $21.5 million remained available to repurchase shares of the Company’s common stock under the program. The Company expects to continue to repurchase its shares under the repurchase program during fiscal year 2026 provided that the Board determines such repurchases to be in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders.

Credit Facility – As of February 28, 2025, we had $0.3 million outstanding under a standby letter of credit arrangement secured by a cash collateral bank account. It is anticipated that our cash, short-term investments and funds from operating cash flows will be sufficient to fund anticipated future expenditures.

Pension Plan – The funded status of our Pension Plan is dependent on many factors, including returns on invested assets, the level of market interest rates and the level of funding. The assumptions used to calculate the pension funding deficit are different from the assumption used to determine the net pension obligations for purposes of our Consolidated Financial Statements. The funding of our Pension Plan is governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), as amended, and the Internal Revenue Code and is also subject to the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Under these regulations, the liabilities are discounted using 24-month average corporate bond rates within a specified corridor around the 25-year average. For the remainder of 2025, the effective discount rate is expected to be between 5.30% and 5.40%. We made a contribution of $1.2 million to our Pension Plan in fiscal years 2025 and 2024, and a $2.0 million contribution in fiscal year 2023. Given our funding status as of February 28, 2025, and absent any significant negative event, we anticipate that our future contributions will be between $1.0 million and $1.2 million per year, depending on our Pension Plan’s funding.

Inventories – We believe our current inventory levels are sufficient to satisfy our customer demands and we anticipate having adequate sources of raw materials to meet future business requirements. We have long-term contracts in effect with paper suppliers that govern prices, but do not require minimum purchase commitments. Certain of our rebate programs do, however, require minimum purchase volumes. Management anticipates meeting the required volumes. The only domestic source of carbonless paper announced that it is closing its factory. We intend to build a surplus of inventory as buffer inventory until we transition to other sources.

Capital Expenditures – We expect our capital expenditure requirements for fiscal year 2025, exclusive of capital required for possible acquisitions, will be in line with our historical levels of between $4.0 million and $7.0 million. We expect to fund these expenditures through existing cash flows. We expect to generate sufficient cash flows from our operating activities to cover our operating and other normal capital requirements for the foreseeable future. We evaluate acquisitions and consider cash flow availability in executing our growth strategy.

Contractual Obligations – There have been no significant changes in our contractual obligations since February 28, 2025 that have, or that are reasonably likely to have, a material impact on our results of operations or financial condition. The following table represents our contractual commitments as of February 28, 2025 (in thousands).

Market Risk

Interest Rates

From time to time, we are exposed to interest rate risk on short-term and long-term financial instruments carrying variable interest rates. We may from time to time utilize interest rate swaps to manage overall borrowing costs and reduce exposure to adverse fluctuations in interest rates. We do not use derivative instruments for trading purposes. While we had no outstanding debt at February 28, 2025, we will be exposed to interest rate risk if we borrow under a credit facility in the future. A drop in the discount rate could negatively impact our Pension Plan's funded status. See Critical Accounting Estimates in Item 7 and Footnote 12 of the Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion.

This market risk discussion contains forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from this discussion based upon general market conditions and changes in domestic and global financial markets.

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

A review and evaluation was carried out under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our “disclosure controls and procedures” (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) as of February 28, 2025. Based upon that review and evaluation, we have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of February 28, 2025.

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

The Consolidated Financial Statements, financial analysis and all other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K were prepared by management, who is responsible for their integrity and objectivity and for establishing and maintaining adequate internal controls over financial reporting.

The Company’s internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of Consolidated Financial Statements for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The Company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:

i. Pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of assets of the Company;

ii. Provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of Consolidated Financial Statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the Company; and

iii. Provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

There are inherent limitations in the effectiveness of any internal control, including the possibility of human error and the circumvention or overriding of controls. Accordingly, even effective internal controls can provide only reasonable assurances with respect to financial statement preparation. Further, because of changes in conditions, the effectiveness of internal controls may vary over time.

Management assessed the design and effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of February 28, 2025. In making this assessment, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”) in the 2013 *Internal Control—Integrated Framework (“*2013 COSO framework”). Based on management’s assessment using those criteria, we believe that, as of February 28, 2025, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting is effective.

In conducting our evaluation, we excluded the assets and liabilities and results of operations of our acquisition, PTI, during fiscal year ended 2025, in accordance with the SEC staff's interpretive guidance concerning management's reporting on internal controls over financial reporting in connection with the acquisition. The assets and revenues resulting from this acquisition constituted approximately 2.0% and 2.1%, respectively, of the related consolidated financial statement amounts as of and for the year ended February 28, 2025.

Changes in Internal Controls

There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that has materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. Management believes that the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K present fairly in all material respects our consolidated position, results of operations and cash flows for the period presented.

CohnReznick LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, has audited the Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company for the fiscal years ended February 28, 2025, February 29, 2024 and February 28, 2023 and has attested to the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of February 28, 2025. Their report on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting is presented on page F-3 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.