Natuzzi Posts Operating Income in Fourth Quarter

March 24, 2010  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in on March 25, 2010 Leather upholstery supplier Natuzzi (NYSE: NTZ) reported operating income of 2.1 million Euro for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, compared to an operating loss of 5.5 million Euro in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Sales for the quarter totaled 152.1 million Euro, a 16.5 percent decrease compared to 182.1 million Euro in the same quarter last year.

For the year, the company reported net income of 17.7 million Euro, compared to a net loss of 61.9 million Euro for fiscal 2008. Sales for the year were 515.4 million Euro, a 22.6 percent decline from the 666 million Euro posted in 2008. Upholstery sales for the year were 450.6 million, a 23.3 percent decline compared to 587.8 million Euro last year.

"We are very pleased with the Natuzzi Group positive trend in the key economic margins occurred during 2009," said Pasquale Natuzz, chairman and CEO. "The 2009 EBIT at Group level, although still negative, recorded a significant improvement with respect to the previous year. Such result, achieved despite decreasing sales as a consequence of the ongoing global crisis, is mainly due to the deep restructuring process started in 2009 and still in progress."

The company will host a conference call Friday at 10 a.m. Eastern time. A live Web cast of the conference call will be available online here under the Investor Relations section.