AKRON, Ohio – Myers Industries Inc. has announced results for the third quarter ended Sept. 30. Net sales for the third quarter were $190 million compared to $187 million in the third quarter of 2010. The gross profit percentage increased to 25 percent in the third quarter compared to 22.2 percent in the third quarter of 2010, despite an increase in raw material costs of approximately 21 percent.
 
Net income in the third quarter of 2011 was $7.2 million, or 21 cents per share, compared to net income in the third quarter of 2010 of $3.2 million, or 9 cents per share.
 
“We continue to make good progress,” said President and CEO John Orr. “In spite of higher raw material costs again this quarter, we delivered improved operating results, as adjusted, on a year-over-year basis, for a fifth consecutive quarter. Our performance improvement plans focused on improving how we manage both volatile raw material costs and productivity has helped us generate strong cash flow, which we returned in part to our shareholders through the repurchase of $15.1 million or 4 percent of our outstanding stock during the quarter.”
 
In May, Myers announced a share repurchase plan that allows the company to purchase up to 5 million shares of its common stock in the open market. On June 1, the company subsequently announced that it had adopted a rule 10b5-1 plan in connection with the 5 million share repurchase plan that was announced in May. The plan was adopted for the purpose of repurchasing up to 2 million shares of its common stock in accordance with the guidelines specified in rule 10b5-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
 
During the third quarter, the company purchased 1,423,341 shares of stock under the plan, at an average price of $10.61, resulting in a cash outflow of $15.1 million. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, the company had purchased 1,795,120 shares of stock under the plan at a cost of $18.8 million and an average price of $10.48.
 
At the end of the quarter, debt, net of cash, was $77.4 million, which compared to $83.8 million at the end of the second quarter.
 
Commenting on the company’s outlook for the fourth quarter, Orr said, “While we continue to benefit from our performance improvement plans, the slow economy has resulted in a weakening in demand for some of our end products. In spite of that, we believe that the positive operating momentum we have created will continue.”