Dock strike hurt Crown’s results

Gonzales, LA — Despite a 9 percent drop in sales triggered by a West Coast dock strike that left 40 containers of product bobbing at sea, Crown Crafts Inc. pushed third-quarter profits before one-time restructuring charges up by 6.5 percent, to $784,000 from $736,000 last year. But factoring in a one-time, pre-tax charge of $1.8 million, the cost of shutting down a Mexican operation, the producer of infant and juvenile products posted a loss during the period of $989,000.

Crown Crafts sales declined by 9.4 percent, to $21.6 million from $23.9 million last year, the shortfall blamed on a West Coast dock strike that cut off the flow of sourced product into the United States, said Randall Chestnut, president and ceo.