CARTHAGE, MO - Leggett & Platt's commercial fixturing and component sales increased 1.2% in the first quarter, the only one of the company's four business segments to record sales growth to start the year.

The company as a whole experienced a 1.1% Q1 sales drop vs. Q1 of 2012 on total sales of $936.0 million. While the fixture business increased to $114.6 million, Leggett & Platt's other segments - residential furniture, industrial markets and specialized products - realized sales declines of 1.2% on sales of $484.9 million, 3.0% on sales of $162.5 million and 0.9% on sales of $174.0 million respectively.

CEO David Haffner commented, "We are pleased with our start to 2013, and remain optimistic that we will continue to see longer-term benefits from ongoing consumer and housing market recoveries."

Leggett & Platt projects that the "economy will improve modestly" and anticipates annual sales growth between 2% and 6%, resulting in sales of $3.80 billion to 3.95 billion for 2013.