Herman Miller Q4 Profit Rises - Update

(RTTNews) - Office furniture maker Herman Miller Inc. (MLHR), Wednesday reported an increase in profit for the fourth quarter, driven largely by a growth in revenues and strong margins.

Michigan-based Herman Miller's fourth-quarter profit rose to $40.7 million or $0.67 per share from $23.4 million or $0.39 per share last year.

Adjusted earnings for the quarter increased to $0.56 per share from $0.47 per share last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.52 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales for the quarter rose 5.8 percent to $582.6 million from $550.7 million a year earlier. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $568.55 million for the quarter.

Sales at the company's key North American Furniture Solutions segment climbed 7.6 percent to $332.9 million from last year. Sales at ELA furniture solutions segment rose 7.4 percent to $110.5 million, while specialty segment sales rose 3.7 percent to 61.6 million. Consumer segment reported sales of $77.6 million, a decrease of 1.6 percent from last year.

Gross margin for the quarter improved to 38.7 percent from 38.1 percent last year.

New orders in the fourth quarter were $606.2 million, up 8.9% from the prior year level.

Looking forward to the first quarter, Herman Miller expects earnings of $0.60 to $0.64 per share on sales of $600 million to $620 million. Analysts currently expect earnings of $0.60 per share on revenues of $589.30 million for the quarter.

MLHR closed Wednesday's regular trading at $31.21, down $0.27 or 0.86% in the after-hours trade.