Culp Sees Sales Increase

June 19, 2007  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Upholstery on June 2007 High Point, N.C. -based Culp, one of the world’s largest producers of mattress and upholstery fabrics, saw its sales increase 3.5 percent to $73.2 million in its fourth quarter. The company reported a net loss of $40,000 during the quarter, which carried $1.8 million in restructuring charges. A year earlier, Culp’s loss was $1.5 million.

For the fiscal year ended April 29, Culp reported sales of $250.5 million, a decrease of 4 percent. It had a net loss of $1.3 million after seeing a loss of $11.8 million the previous year. The company, which purchased International Textile’s Group’s mattress fabrics line in the third quarter, saw its mattress fabrics sales increase 15 percent for the year, while sales of upholstery fabrics sales declined 15 percent during 2007.

“Our fourth quarter performance marked a solid finish to a year of important strategic and operational changes at Culp,” said Frank Saxon, Culp’s CEO. “These results reflect the benefits of the aggressive steps we have taken this year to more effectively position Culp in the global marketplace.” He later said, “Although market conditions have continued to be extremely challenging in upholstery fabrics, we have worked hard to create a sustainable upholstery fabrics business model that will meet current customer demand. Our China platform has significantly enhanced our competitive position in the global marketplace. We believe we have achieved a solid leadership position in both of our businesses and look forward to the year ahead.”

Saxon said weak furniture demand will mean that first-quarter sales will be about the same as a year ago, and the company projects that net income will be in the range of 5 cents to 9 cents per diluted share, including restructuring and related charges.