ZEELAND, Mich. - Earlier this month, office furniture manufacturing giant Herman Miller said it was considering offshoring some of its manufacturing plants, citing the trade war between the U.S. and some of its trading partners.
Now, in an interview with MiBiz, it said its comments were taken out of context.
“One of the core tenets of Herman Miller’s manufacturing strategy is to produce goods as close to the end customer as possible,” Herman Miller CFO Jeff Stutz said in a statement to MiBiz. “Keeping this in mind, we are continually developing and refining business contingency plans to best utilize our global supply base and manufacturing resources. This includes planning around sourcing decisions that could be made in response to escalating global trade tensions.
“With that said, based on current conditions we have no plans to relocate or otherwise negatively impact any of our West Michigan manufacturing operations.”
The furniture maker's comments come soon after it revealed its fourth-quarter earnings and revenue - which are soaring.
Net income was $32.2 million for the quarter and sales were $618 million, higher than the $577 million it reached the same time a year ago. Reported earnings were 66 cents per share, which was stronger than the 58 cents per share that analysts had predicted. Analysts had also expected $601 million in sales - $17 million lower than what was reached.
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