Avery Dennison Corp. recently announced preliminary, unaudited results for its third quarter ended September 28, 2019. Net sales in the 2019 third quarter increased 0.1% to $1.76 billion; on an organic, non-GAAP basis, sales grew 2.1%.

“We continue to deliver solid profit growth despite soft market demand,” said Mitch Butier, chairman, president, and CEO. “Our focus in this slower growth environment has been to protect our margins in the base business, while driving faster-than-average growth in high value categories like RFID, and we’re executing well on both fronts.

“For the quarter, Label and Graphic Materials delivered modest organic growth, as volumes improved relative to the first half of the year, and operating margin was strong; Retail Branding and Information Solutions delivered solid organic growth, as continued strength in RFID more than offset a slowdown in the base business, and operating margin remained strong; and IHM outperformed expectations on both the top and bottom lines, delivering solid organic growth and strong margin expansion.

“We have revised the high end of our guidance range for 2019 earnings per share, reflecting the incremental negative impact from currency translation, largely offset by stronger operational results and a modestly lower tax rate. We’re confident in our ability to achieve our long-term targets, reflecting the resilience of our business and ability of our team to adapt to changing market conditions.”

Reported sales for the Label and Graphic Materials segment declined 0.8% in the third quarter of 2019; sales grew 1.2% on an organic basis, as volume/mix improved modestly. On an organic basis, sales increased by low single digits in both Label and Packaging Materials and the combined Graphics and Reflective Solutions businesses.

In Retail Branding and Information Solutions, reported sales for the 2019 third quarter increased 2.1%. On an organic basis, sales grew 4.1%, driven primarily by continued strength in sales of radio frequency identification (RFID) solutions, which increased by approximately 20%.

Reported sales increased 1.4% for the Industrial and Healthcare Materials segment. On an organic basis, sales increased 3.7%, driven by a low-to-mid single-digit increase in industrial categories and a high-single-digit increase in healthcare categories.

Additional details are available at www.averydennison.com.