Superior Group of Companies, Inc. has announced its second-quarter operating results for 2020, reporting net sales up 73 percent from the same quarter in 2019 to $159.4 million. The Seminole, Florida-based group operates in the promotional products market through its subsidiaries, distributors BAMKO (PPAI 242148, D11), Tangerine Promotions, Ltd. (PPAI 439779, D1) and Public Identity, Inc. (PPAI 230372, D1).

The company’s pretax income was $18.9 million compared to $3.7 million in 2019. Net income was $15.2 million, or $1 per diluted share, compared to $2.8 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2019. The board of directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share a further special dividend of $0.10 per share, both payable August 25 to shareholders of record as of August 11.

“We are extremely proud to report record operating results for the second quarter and first half of 2020,” says Michael Benstock, CEO. “It is particularly gratifying to see the hard work, flexibility and ingenuity of our team members pay off and to further demonstrate our ability to adapt and thrive in times like these. The intentional diversity of our business segments and our historical emphasis on essential businesses bodes well for the future of each of our segments. While some smaller portions of our business were significantly impacted negatively, we were able to more than offset these shortfalls with the successful pivot to selling personal protective equipment (PPE) in addition to our legacy health-care products, both of which continue to be in high demand during the pandemic. Net sales of PPE were approximately $58.5 million in the second quarter, and we ended the quarter with a very strong backlog, including nearly $52 million of PPE products expected to ship primarily during the third and fourth quarters of this year. We continue to book additional PPE orders on a regular basis.”

PPE boosted BAMKO’s second-quarter sales performance, which was up 217.8 percent to $75.5 million. And while PPE accounted for $49.7 million of the distributor’s sales in the second quarter, promotional products sales were also on the rise. In the first six months of 2020, BAMKO posted $101.6 million in sales, compared to $44.1 million during the first half of 2019. BAMKO’s PPE sales represented approximately 85 percent of Superior Group of Companies’ second quarter PPE business.

“We didn’t sit around waiting for ‘things to come back,’” says Josh White, BAMKO’s senior vice president of strategic partnerships. “Not even for a second. The onset of the pandemic proved an incredible opportunity to put our values to the test. We talk all of the time about bending reality to our will. So when COVID hit, we sprang into action and decided that we were going to find the opportunity amidst adversity. Having a great in-house sourcing team was critical to finding the supply to meet the rapidly emerging demand. Just as important was clarity of purpose, vision and values. Speed, agility, adaptability, hard work, an entrepreneurial spirit and an unflappable willingness to believe in the possible were our guiding principles. We cherished the opportunity to put those values to the test. The results you saw in Q2 were simply an outgrowth of successfully putting those values into action.”

Benstock adds, “As a result of the tremendous cash flow generated from operating activities, we were able to further reduce our outstanding debt an additional $16.1 million in the second quarter and over $34 million in the first half of 2020. Our very strong balance sheet has positioned us very well to be able to capitalize on opportunities as they arise during these times.”

For the remainder of 2020, the company says it expects to see significant increases in its net sales and income compared to prior year periods.