Culp Revises 4Q Expectations Up

May 18, 2010  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Financial Reports on May 19, 2010 Fabric and mattress ticking supplier Culp Inc. (NYSE: CFI) revised its fourth quarter expectations based on unaudited, preliminary figures that show overall sales for the period ended May 2 are expected to be up 20 percent from the same quarter last year.

The High Point-based company said ticking sales are expected to be up 26 percent and upholstery fabrics are expected to be up 13 percent over the prior-year quarter.

In a news release, the company said it expects pre-tax income to be in the range of $4.7 million to $5.1 million for the quarter. The projection is higher than the company's previously announced expectation of $3.5 million to $4.2 million in the pre-tax income for the period.

"Our projected financial results for the fourth quarter reflect better sales growth than anticipated in our mattress fabrics business, driven by significantly improved consumer demand in the bedding industry," said Frank Saxon, president and chief executive officer. "While we have continued to see favorable growth trends in our upholstery fabrics business, we believe consumer demand for furniture was not as strong as for bedding during the quarter. Overall, we are very pleased with the progress we made in the fourth quarter and in fiscal 2010. Looking ahead, although we are optimistic about the outlook for the bedding and furniture industries, we are beginning to experience higher raw material costs in both segments and increased pricing pressure in our mattress fabrics business."

The company expects to report financial results for the fourth quarter and year end in mid-June.