Herman Miller shares boost after earnings beat Street

Shares of furniture-maker Herman Miller Inc. (NASDAQ:MLHR) performed admirably on Wednesday after the furniture maker’s fiscal quarterly earnings were released.

The Zeeland, Michigan-based firm reported earnings late Wednesday of $0.60 per share on a diluted basis in the first quarter compared to diluted earnings per share of $0.55 in the same quarter last fiscal year.

New orders were up 6% to $630.6mln. Backlog was up 4.3% to $346.4mln.

“As I have engaged with stakeholders across the Herman Miller community in the past month since joining the company, it has become even more clear to me that the legacy of innovation and design at the heart of Herman Miller will lay the foundation for our future success. There are tremendous opportunities ahead to leverage Herman Miller’s global multi-channel distribution capabilities and leading portfolio of brands with both commercial and consumer audiences,” said Andi Owen, Chief Executive Officer.

“These opportunities include leveraging the investments that we made this quarter in HAY, a leading global design brand in both commercial and consumer furnishings, and Maars Living Walls, a global designer and manufacturer of interior wall solutions. Our teams are in the early days of integrating these brands into our portfolio and that work is progressing ahead of schedule. Our momentum is evident from our first quarter results as net sales and order levels reflected growth across all of our business segments and adjusted earnings exceeded the expectations established at the start of the quarter. I look forward to working with our leadership team to leverage our key strategic priorities to accelerate the growth and evolution of our business.”

New orders, meanwhile, were up 6% to $630.6mln. Backlog was up 4.3% to $346.4mln.

Gross margin dipped to 36% from 37.4%; about 60 basis points of the decline came due to adopting ASC 606 for revenue recognition.

Shares of Herman Miller Inc were at US$37.25 on Wednesday. 

Story by ProactiveInvestors