ZEELAND, MI -- Contract furniture manufacturer Herman Miller Inc., bouyed by strong business overseas, reported net sales for its second quarter of $445.6 million, an increase of 8.1% over the same period in 2010.

Sales within Herman Miller's North American reporting segment of $321.7 million were up 4.6% from the prior year. New orders in the second quarter totaled $306.2 million; reflecting a decrease of 13.0% from the same period last fiscal year.

International sales, led by sales to the United Kingdom and Asia-Pacific region, climbed 20.4% to $87.5 million.

Herman Miller's Specialty and Consumer segment net sales of $36.4 million represented a 14.1% gain from the prior year period. New orders in the quarter were 14.7% higher than the second quarter of last year.

"Our results this quarter cap a solid first half of fiscal 2012," said Brian Walker, CEO, said, "Reduced order momentum this past quarter reflected pockets of weakness in some customer sectors driven by a reduction in large order volume compared to last year. At the same time, we remain optimistic that some of today's economic headwinds are transient and opportunities for growth remain both here and abroad."