Matthews International Corporation announced unaudited consolidated earnings results for the first quarter ended December 31, 2014. For the quarter, the company reported sales were $343,584,000 compared to $229,945,000 for the same period a year ago. Operating profit was $25,585,000 compared to $14,679,000 for the same period a year ago. Income before income taxes was $20,088,000 compared to $11,987,000 for the same period a year ago. Net income attributable to the company was $14,951,000 compared to $7,914,000 for the same period a year ago. Diluted earnings per share was $0.45 compared to $0.29 for the same period a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.55 compared to $0.41 for the same period a year ago. The increase in earnings per share primarily reflected the impact of the acquisition of Schawk Inc. and sales growth in the Company's SGK Brand Solutions and Industrial segments.

Excluding this first quarter benefit, the company is currently estimating an effective tax rate for fiscal 2015 of 32%.