JASPER, Ind. - Office furniture giant Kimball reported its highest quarterly sales figures in over 15 years and strong double-digit organic order growth. 

 

The company's hospitality segment grew 27 percent for Q1 2019 and its healthcare segment crew 20 percent over the same period last year. Its overall sales are up 8 percent to $194 million for the quarter.

 

The only segment that saw a decline was government furniture.

 

Adjusted EBITDA (a measure of the company's operating performance) however, fell 3.6 percent to $19.1 million due to higher transportation, steel and other commodity costs, as well as the impact of tariffs.

 

The company said it is working to mitigate these cost increases by negotiating pricing with suppliers, continuous improvement initiatives, price increases and $7 million cost reduction initiatives. It anticipates that these actions will offset higher costs beginning in the second quarter of fiscal year 2019 and beyond.

 

In the office furniture segment, revenue was $148 million as sales of new products increased 30 percent.

 

The company recently appointed Kristine Juster as its new CEO. It also purchased Maryland-based David Edward furniture.