Eric A. Blanchard
50, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
Eric A. Blanchard joined the Company as its Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary in January 2006. From November 2002 until December 2006 he served as the Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at Tennant Company. Previously Mr. Blanchard was with Dean Foods Company where he held the positions of Chief Operating Officer, Dairy Division from January 2002 to October 2002, Vice President and President, Dairy Division from 1999 to 2002 and General Counsel and Secretary from 1988 to 1999.
Patrick T. Collins
46, Senior Vice President, Sales
Patrick T. Collins joined the Company in October 2004 as Senior Vice President, Sales. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Collins was employed by Ingram Micro, a global technology distribution company, in various senior sales and marketing roles, serving most recently as its Senior Group Vice President of Sales and Marketing from January 2000 through August 2004. In that capacity, Mr. Collins had operating responsibility for sales, marketing, purchasing and supplier relations for Ingram Micro's North American division. Prior to joining Ingram Micro in early 2000, Mr. Collins was with the Frito-Lay division of PepsiCo, Inc., a global food and beverage consumer products company, for nearly 15 years, where he held various accounting, planning, sales and general management positions.
Timothy P. Connolly
43, Senior Vice President, Operations
Timothy P. Connolly has served as Senior Vice President, Operations since December 2006. From February 2006 to such time, Mr. Connolly was Vice President, Field Operations Support and Facility Engineering at the Field Support Center. He joined the Company in August 2003 as Region Vice President Operations, Midwest. Before joining the Company, Mr. Connolly was the Regional Vice President, Midwest Region for Cardinal Health where he directed operations, sales, human resources, finance and customer service for one of Cardinal's largest pharmaceutical distribution centers. [/TABLE]
Brian S. Cooper 50, Senior Vice President and Treasurer | Brian S. Cooper has served as the Company's Senior Vice President and Treasurer since February 2001. From 1997 until he joined the Company, he was the Treasurer of Burns International Services Corporation, a provider of physical security systems and services. Prior to that time, Mr. Cooper spent twelve years in U.S. and international finance assignments with Amoco Corporation, a global petroleum and chemicals company. He also held the position of chief financial officer for Amoco's operations in Norway. | |
Kathleen S. Dvorak 50, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | Kathleen S. Dvorak has been the Company's Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since October 2001. In that role, she oversees the Company's financial planning, accounting, treasury and investor relations activities and serves as its primary liaison to the financial/investor community. Ms. Dvorak previously served as the Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Financial Administration from October 2000, and as Vice President, Investor Relations, from July 1997. Ms. Dvorak has been with the Company since 1982, and has been involved in various aspects of the financial function at the Company. As announced in September 2006 Ms. Dvorak will be leaving the Company on or before June 30, 2007 unless extended by mutual agreement of both parties. | |
James K. Fahey 56, Senior Vice President, Merchandising | James K. Fahey is the Company's Senior Vice President, Merchandising, with responsibility for category management and merchandising, global sourcing, and supplier revenue management. From September 1992 until he assumed that position in October 1998, Mr. Fahey served as Vice President, Merchandising of the Company. Prior to that time, he served as the Company's Director of Merchandising. Before he joined the Company in 1991, Mr. Fahey had an extensive career in both retail and consumer direct-response marketing. | |
Mark J. Hampton 53, Senior Vice President, Marketing | Mark J. Hampton is the Company's Senior Vice President, Marketing, with responsibility for marketing, pricing and advertising activities. He previously served as Senior Vice President, Marketing and Field Support Services, from late 2001 until early 2003, Senior Vice President, Marketing, and President and Chief Operating Officer of The Order People Company, during 2001 and Senior Vice President, Marketing, from October 2000. Mr. Hampton began his career with the Company in 1980 and left the Company to work in the office products dealer community in 1991. Upon his return to the Company in 1992, he served as Midwest Regional Vice President, Vice President and General Manager of the Company's MicroUnited division and, from 1994, Vice President, Marketing. | |
Jeffrey G. Howard 51, Senior Vice President, National Accounts and Channel Management | Jeffrey G. Howard has served as the Company's Senior Vice President, National Accounts and Channel Management, since October 2004. From early 2003 until such time, he was Senior Vice President, National Accounts and New Business Development. Mr. Howard previously held the positions of Senior Vice President, Sales and Customer Support Services from October 2001, Senior Vice President, National Accounts, from late 2000 and Vice President, National Accounts, from 1994. He joined the Company in 1990 as General Manager of its Los Angeles distribution center, and was promoted to Western Region Vice President in 1992. Mr. Howard began his career in the office products industry in 1973 with Boorum & Pease Company, which was acquired by Esselte Pendaflex in 1985. | |
Kenneth M. Nickel 39, Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer | On February 20, 2007, Kenneth M. Nickel was appointed Chief Accounting Officer adding to his responsibilities as Vice President and Controller. Mr. Nickel has been the Company's Vice President and Controller since November 2002. Prior to that, Mr. Nickel served as the Company's Vice President and Field Support Center Controller from November 2001 to October 2002 and as its Vice President and Assistant Controller from April 2001 to October 2001. Mr. Nickel has been with the Company since November 1989 and has held progressively more responsible accounting positions within the Company's Finance department. | |
P. Cody Phipps 45, President, United Stationers Supply | P. Cody Phipps was promoted to President, United Stationers Supply in October, 2006. He joined the Company in August 2003 as its Senior Vice President, Operations. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Phipps was a partner at McKinsey & Company, Inc., a global management consulting firm. During his tenure at McKinsey from and after 1990, he became a leader in the firm's North American Operations Effectiveness Practice and co-founded and led its Service Strategy and Operations Initiative, which focused on driving significant operational improvements in complex service and logistics environments. Prior to joining McKinsey, Mr. Phipps worked as a consultant with The Information Consulting Group, a systems consulting firm, and as an IBM account marketing representative. | |
Stephen A. Schultz 40, Senior Vice President, President, Lagasse, Inc. | Stephen A. Schultz is the President of Lagasse, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of USSC, a position he has held since August 2001. In October 2003, he assumed the additional position of Vice President, Category Management-Janitorial/Sanitation, of the Company. Mr. Schultz joined Lagasse in early 1999 as Vice President, Marketing and Business Development, and became a Senior Vice President of Lagasse in late 2000. Before joining Lagasse, he served for nearly 10 years in various executive sales and marketing roles for Hospital Specialty Company, a manufacturer and distributor of hygiene products for the institutional janitorial and sanitation industry. | |
Joseph R. Templet
60, Senior Vice President, Trade Development
Joseph R. Templet has served as Senior Vice President, since October Trade Development 2004. From October 2001 until such time, Mr. Templet was the Company's Senior Vice President, Field Sales. He previously served as the Company's Senior Vice President, Field Sales and Operations from October 2001, Senior Vice President, South Region, from October 2000, and Vice President, South Region, from 1992. Mr. Templet joined the Company in 1985 and thereafter held various managerial positions, including Vice President, Central Region, and Vice President, Marketing and Corporate Sales. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Templet held sales and sales management positions with the Parker Pen Company, Polaroid Corporation and Procter & Gamble.
Executive officers are elected by the Board of Directors. Except as required by individual employment agreements between executive officers and the Company, there exists no arrangement or understanding between any executive officer and any other person pursuant to which such executive officer was elected. Each executive officer serves until his or her successor is appointed and qualified or until his or her earlier removal or resignation.
PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES.
Common Stock Information
USI's common stock is quoted through the NASDAQ Global Select Market ("NASDAQ") under the symbol USTR. The following table shows the high and low closing sale prices per share for USI's common stock as reported by NASDAQ:
| High | Low | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | ||||||
| First Quarter | $ | 53.10 | $ | 48.22 | ||
| Second Quarter | 56.01 | 44.77 | ||||
| Third Quarter | 51.00 | 44.95 | ||||
| Fourth Quarter | 49.07 | 45.58 | ||||
2005 | ||||||
| First Quarter | $ | 46.62 | $ | 42.03 | ||
| Second Quarter | 50.75 | 41.45 | ||||
| Third Quarter | 53.62 | 45.36 | ||||
| Fourth Quarter | 50.42 | 43.42 | ||||
On February 8, 2007, there were approximately 693 holders of record of common stock. A greater number of holders of USI common stock are "street name" or beneficial holders, whose shares are held of record by banks, brokers and other financial institutions.
Common Stock Repurchases
As of December 31, 2006, the Company had $51.8 million under share repurchase authorizations from its Board of Directors. During 2006, the Company repurchased 2,626,275 shares of common stock at an aggregate cost of $124.7 million.
Purchases may be made from time to time in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. Depending on market and business conditions and other factors, the Company may continue or suspend purchasing its common stock at any time without notice.
Acquired shares are included in the issued shares of the Company and treasury stock, but are not included in average shares outstanding when calculating earnings per share data.
The following table summarizes purchases of the Company's common stock during the fourth quarter of 2006:
| Period | Total Number of Shares Purchased | Average Price Paid Per Share | Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs(1) | Approximate Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/1/2006—10/31/2006 | 397,800 | $ | 47.79 | 397,800 | $ | 67,473,530 | |||||
| 11/1/2006—11/30/2006 | 330,125 | 47.80 | 330,125 | 51,693,564 | |||||||
| Total | 727,925 | $ | 47.79 | 727,925 | |||||||
Stock Performance Graph
The following graph compares the performance of the Company's common stock over a five-year period with the cumulative total returns of (1) The NASDAQ Stock Market Index (U.S. companies), and (2) a group of companies included within Value Line's Office Equipment Industry Index. The graph assumes $100 was invested on December 31, 2001 in the Company's common stock and in each of the indicies and assumes reinvestment of all dividends. The stock price performance reflected in this graph is not necessarily indicative of future performance.
| Company/Index | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Stationers (USTR) | 100.00 | 85.59 | 121.60 | 137.30 | 144.13 | 138.75 | ||||||
| *NASDAQ (U.S. Companies) | 100.00 | 69.13 | 103.36 | 112.49 | 114.88 | 126.21 | ||||||
| **Value Line Office Equipment | 100.00 | 101.18 | 151.08 | 177.36 | 176.09 | 226.08 |
Dividends
The Company's policy has been to reinvest earnings to enhance its financial flexibility and to fund future growth. Accordingly, USI has not paid cash dividends and has no plans to declare cash dividends on its common stock at this time. Furthermore, as a holding company, USI's ability to pay cash dividends in the future depends upon the receipt of dividends or other payments from its operating subsidiary, USSC. The Company's debt agreements impose limited restrictions on the payment of dividends. For further information on the Company's debt agreements, see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources" in Item 7, and Note 10 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans
The information required by
