Revenue during the quarter went up marginally by 0.74 percent to $301.57 million from $299.36 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter contracted 67 basis points over the previous year period to 36.99 percent. Total expenses were 84.41 percent of quarterly revenues, up from 84.34 percent for the same period last year. That has resulted in a contraction of 7 basis points in operating margin to 15.59 percent.

Operating income for the quarter was $47.01 million, compared with $46.89 million in the previous year period.

However, the adjusted EBITDA for the quarter stood at $52.86 million compared with $54.31 million in the prior year period. At the same time, adjusted EBITDA margin contracted 61 basis points in the quarter to 17.53 percent from 18.14 percent in the last year period.

Joseph M. Yorio, president and chief executive officer, stated, “Our fiscal third quarter represents the largest revenue quarter for our Company and I’m pleased that we remain on track to deliver a second consecutive year of growth. While revenues were up over $2 million in the third quarter, we exited the quarter with a strong backlog of open orders in both our Furniture and Supplies product lines, which bodes well for the fourth quarter. As the year-to-date results indicate, our performance in Furniture and Science continues to be strong. Importantly though, we see progress towards our objective of achieving balanced growth as our broader Supplies category is showing modest growth and we are seeing strength in specialty areas such as Art, Early Learning and Special Needs. Through the first nine months of the year, revenues and gross margins are up, operating expenses are down and we posted increases in operating income, net income and Adjusted EBITDA. All in all, our year-to-date performance has been solid and we have a strong, dedicated team of employees that are “Leading With Action” and making it happen every day. But, we are not satisfied and remain laser-focused on improving the value proposition to our customers and continuing to drive value for all constituents.”

School Specialty forecasts revenue to grow in the range of 2.10 percent to 2.30 percent for the fiscal year 2016. For financial year 2016, the company forecasts operating income to be in the range of $23.10 million to $24.60 million.