Culp Earns $3 Million In Quarter As Sales Jump 21%

-- Home Textiles Today, 3/7/2010 12:00:00 AM

High Point, N.C. — —

High Point, N.C. —Buoyed by improvements in its upholstery fabric and mattress ticking businesses, Culp Inc. had a profit of $3 million in the quarter ended Jan. 31 and recorded its first year-over-year sales gain in two years.

The quarterly profit, which equals 23 cents per share, reversed a net loss of $450,000 or 4 cents per share in the quarter ended Feb. 1, 2009.

Sales in the most recent period, the third quarter of Culp’s fiscal year, were up 21% from a year ago to $54 million. The company said mattress ticking sales were up 7% in the quarter, while upholstery fabric sales leaped 39%.

“We have seen a significant improvement in our upholstery fabrics performance primarily due to a better macroeconomic environment and favorable results from our sales and marketing initiatives,” said Frank Saxon, ceo. “This period marks the first year-over-year sales increase in this business segment in three years, and the highest quarterly profit in over five years.”

For the nine months ended Jan. 31, sales were $149.2 million, down 4.5% from $156.2 million in the nine months ended Feb. 1, 2009.

Nine-month net income was $7.8 million or 60 cents per share. That compares with a net loss of $40.5 million or $3.20 per share in the nine months ended Feb. 1, 2009. The prior year included restructuring charges of $8 million.

For the fourth fiscal quarter, Saxon said Culp is projecting an increase of 10% to 14% in mattress ticking sales and a jump of 13% to 17% in upholstery fabric sales, compared with the same period a year earlier.

Fourth-quarter pre-tax income should be $3.5 million to $4.2 million, he said.

“We have created lean and agile business models that are scalable and position us very well to handle significant growth as the home furnishings industry recovers,” said Saxon.

(Reported by Larry Thomas, business editor at HTT sister publication Furniture Today.)