It didn’t take long for an investment advisor to get a take on what they think about Matthews International’s 4Q Earnings Report of last week.  The article from Seeking Alpha’s contributer Valkyrie Trading Society is titled, “Matthews International:  Signs of Deleveraging and Margin Improvement”.  You can access the article here.

Here’s a short snippet of what the article says of Matthew’s Memorialization Segment, “Memorialization deserves some focus since it likely contributed to the enthusiasm today. EBITDA is up nicely despite sales declines thanks to inventory costing dynamics, and also the fact that cost-cutting is taking effect in this business. Growth remains inorganic with bolt-ons for the most part, with the opportunity for that continuing, but the important thing is that pricing is improving and the environment for casketed deaths is normalizing post-COVID. . . . “

Enter your e-mail below to join the 3,113 others who receive Funeral Director Daily articles daily:

“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

Funeral Director Daily published an article on Security National Financial Corporation’s 3rd Quarter 2024 results on Monday using the company’s November 14, 2024, Form 10-Q as our guidance as no press release had been issued from SNFC at that time.

Later on November 18, a press release on the earnings from SNFC was released and, as promised, we publish that information today.  You can access that press release here.

The company reported that 3rd Quarter Revenues were at $88.2 million, up from $80.2 million for the same time period of 2023 and “Earnings Before Taxes” for the 9-month period ended September 30, 2024 were $15.2 million as compared to $5.1 million for the first 9-months of 2023.

Here’s what Scott M. Quist, President of the company, said in prepared remarks in that press release, “It should be noted that for the 9 months our Mortgage Segment has improved its profitability by $9.4 million dollars, reflecting significant expense-reduction work along with the improved revenues. Our Life Insurance Segment revenues are arguably flat, being up only 3.8%, but the Life Insurance Segment’s profitability improved over 40% to $28 million dollars. Driving that profitability increase were decreasing death claims, including a return to more normal age distributions following COVID, and a decrease in the amortization of deferred acquisition costs which is related to the improved profit margins on our products.”

Enter your e-mail below to join the 3,117 others who receive Funeral Director Daily articles daily:

“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

NFDA Special Advocacy Bulletin: EPA Set to Release Formaldehyde Draft Risk Assessment Tomorrow

The day funeral service has been waiting for since 2019 is almost here. NFDA has learned that tomorrow, March 15, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will release its draft risk assessment of formaldehyde.

The EPA selected formaldehyde for a risk assessment under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in 2019. TSCA requires the EPA to periodically conduct risk assessments to determine whether particular uses of various chemicals present an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment.

This draft risk assessment will indicate whether formaldehyde poses an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment and at what level. Following the publication of the draft risk assessment in the Federal Register, there will be a 60-day public comment period. The EPA will then take comments under advisement and finalize the risk assessment. We will be asking funeral service professionals to provide comments to the EPA about the impact of their decisions on funeral service. This is a time where the profession needs to speak with one loud, unified voice!

If the final EPA risk assessment finds that formaldehyde presents an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment, it could result in the agency taking actions, such as:

• Establishing very low exposure standards
• Enacting management restrictions
• Setting standards that funeral directors and embalmers must meet to embalm with formaldehyde and issuing violation notices and penalties should they not comply
• Strict exposure controls and exposure limits for remaining permissible industrial or commercial uses, with strict recordkeeping requirements
• Phase out periods for restricted uses ranging from 180 days to 10 years, depending on the product
• Prohibition of consumer uses
• Prohibition of most industrial and commercial uses

NFDA will share more information in a Special Bulletin as soon as we have had time to analyze the draft risk assessment.

NFDA will also host a free webinar for members at 10 a.m. CT on Wednesday, March 27. NFDA Senior Vice President, Advocacy, Lesley Witter, will share vital information about what the draft risk assessment may mean for you and next steps in the TSCA process. Be among the first to learn more and register for The Number Is In! An Update on the EPA Formaldehyde Review and the NEW Proposed Formaldehyde Exposure Limit.

NFDA Takes the Lead for the Profession

From the moment the EPA selected formaldehyde for review in 2019, NFDA has been the leading voice for funeral service.

NFDA provided multiple rounds of oral and written testimony to the EPA. NFDA has also educated Congress and the EPA about the importance of formaldehyde in the embalming process and the right of Americans to hold an open casket funeral.

Additionally, NFDA commissioned the peer-reviewed and published NFDA Formaldehyde Exposure Study to offer current data that characterizes expected formaldehyde exposure in the 21st Century.

NFDA’s scientific study found that the level of exposure to formaldehyde for funeral directors and embalmers during an embalming is less than current Occupational Safety and Health Administration permissible eight-hour and short-term exposure limits. NFDA’s data shows that trained funeral service professionals can effectively manage their exposure to formaldehyde to well-below current occupational limits – information that has been shared with the EPA in both oral and written testimony.

The results of this study were published in the peer-reviewed scientific Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, lending weight and credibility to the findings and presenting a stark contrast to existing scientific data.

This EPA risk assessment is a multi-phase process that is expected to last until at least 2026, likely longer. NFDA will keep you informed as it continues to engage on your behalf and that of the profession.