Candlemaker Blyth First Quarter profit rises

Candlemaker Blyth Inc. said quarterly profit rose 53% from a year ago, helped by the weak dollar and acquisitions. The company also raised its outlook for full-year earnings to more than $2.10 a share, up $.05 a share from its prior outlook, due to an acquisition and the weak dollar.

Blyth earned $19.6 million for the first quarter ended April 30th, compared with $12.8 million a year earlier. A year earlier, profit was reduced by a charge for reducing the value of its Sterno food heating candle business.

Sales rose 12% to $312 million. About 9 percentage points of the growth came from CBK Styles, acquired in May 2002, and Miles Kimball Co., acquired on April 1 this year, the Greenwich, CT-based company said.