Culp profits up, ready for upholstery gains   

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 8/31/2007 10:33:00 AM

High Point, N.C. – Net income at upholstery and mattress fabric producer Culp shot up more than six-fold to $851,000 in the company’s first quarter, which ended July 29.

 Sales of $65.2 million were up 4.2% from $62.6 million one year ago. 

"Our performance primarily reflects the significant gains made in our mattress fabrics business,” said Culp ceo Frank Saxon, noting that Culp’s acquisition six months ago of the mattress fabrics product line of ITG Burlington House “has furthered our growth strategy in this segment.”

 Things were different on the upholstery side, however, where Culp saw a 30% drop in sales – mainly due to a 38% decline in fabric sales, while the cut and sewn kit business actually expanded.

 “Considering the tough market conditions, we were pleased to report a profitable performance in upholstery fabrics, primarily driven by our non-U.S. operations,” Saxon noted.  

Culp has reduced its inventory in the upholstery division by $10 million over the past year, and now has a wholly-owned operation in China. Saxon said the company is “encouraged by the favorable trends we are seeing in fabric placements with many customers for the upcoming furniture market in October.”