Avery Dennison has released preliminary, unaudited results for its third quarter, which ended on October 3, 2015. The company is reporting an adjusted EPS of $0.87, while net sales declined approximately 6% to $1.47 billion. Net sales were up approximately 5% on organic basis, though.

Avery Dennison also repurchased 1.9 million shares for $109 million and paid $100 million in dividends in the first nine months of 2015.

In Pressure-sensitive Materials, operating margin improved 190 basis points to 12% as the impact of productivity initiatives, higher volume and favorable product mix, and the net benefit from price and raw material input costs more than offset higher employee-related costs. Adjusted operating margin improved 180 basis points.

“I’m happy to report another strong quarter, keeping us on track to achieve our financial targets for the year,” says Dean Scarborough, Avery Dennison chairman and CEO. “Sales growth for both of our core businesses was within our long-term target range, driving total company organic growth of 5%, with 160 basis points of margin expansion.

“Our Pressure-sensitive Materials segment once again delivered strong results, reflecting the continued execution of our strategy to leverage our scale and strengths in innovation, quality and service across the entire portfolio,” adds Scarborough. “Retail Branding and Information Solutions also made solid progress in the quarter, in terms of both top-line growth and margin improvement, with particular strength in radio-frequency identification products. The team has begun to execute a new strategy to accelerate growth in the core business through a more competitive, faster and simpler model that will better serve the needs of our customers in all segments of the market.

“Overall, I’m pleased with the progress our team has made,” he concludes. “We delivered double-digit growth in adjusted earnings per share, in spite of challenging economic conditions in many parts of the world and significant headwinds from currency translation. I remain confident that the consistent execution of our strategies, including the RBIS transformation, will enable us to meet our long-term goals for superior value creation through a balance of profitable growth and capital discipline.”