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 13 percent growth in revenues and strong margins.

Michigan-based Herman Miller's fourth-quarter profit rose to $23.4 million or $0.39 per share from $16.6 million or $0.28 per share a year ago.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the fourth quarter dropped to $0.47 per share from $0.50 per share a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.41 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales for the fourth quarter grew 13 percent to $550.7 million from $487.5 million a year ago. On an organic basis, excluding the impact of dealer divestitures and foreign currency translation, sales increased by 3.9 percent. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $543.63 million for the fourth quarter.

Sales at the company's key North American segment inched up 0.8 percent to $309.5 million from last year. Sales at ELA segment, or international sales, were $102.9 million, or down 6.1 percent, while specialty segment sales rose 11.9 percent to 59.4 million.

Gross margin for the quarter improved significantly to 38.1 percent from 36.7 percent last year.

Looking forward to the first quarter, the company has forecast earnings of $0.44 to $0.48 per share and sales of $545 million to $565 million. Analysts currently expect earnings of $0.50 per share on revenues of $564.40 million for the quarter.

The company increased its quarterly dividend by 5 percent to $0.1475 per share, payable in October.

MLHR closed Wednesday's trading at $29.98, up $0.23 or 0.77%, on the Nasdaq. The stock further gained $0.97 or 3.24% in the after-hours trade.