ZEELAND, MI - Office furniture maker Herman Miller Inc. reported a 30.4% drop in net earnings for its fourth quarter ended June 2.
The company posted Q4 net earnings of $11.9 million on $420.7 million in total revenue, down from $17.1 million in net earnings on $441.5 million in total revenues for the final quarter of 2011.
Herman Miller said part of the total revenue decline resulted from "soft" healthcare product sales and dealership closiings. Restructuing and impairment expenses of $5.4 million included $1.6 million to close the Nemshoff chair plant in Sioux Center, IA.
In spite of the declines in Q4, Herman Miller's net earnings for the full year improved by 6.2% as the company posted a net earnings of $75.2 million on total sales of $1.724 billion.
Brian Walker, Herman Miller CEO, said “We finished fiscal 2012 with solid financial results in the fourth quarter, highlighted by strong international sales growth and our highest gross margin percentage in 12 years. While demand from the U.S. federal government and healthcare buyers was again soft this quarter, order activity in the balance of our core North American business was up 15% over last year, excluding the impact of dealers sold."
Looking forward, Herman Miller said it expects net sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2013 to be in the range of $440 million to $460 million.
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