Sealy 2Q Profits Trimmed Nearly By Half

October 7, 2008  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on October 2008 Sealy, the world’s largest mattress maker, said Tuesday that sales declined 9.3 percent to $405 million in its second quarter, and net income was nearly halved to $10.9 million from $21.5 million during the same period a year ago.

The Trinity, N.C.-based company said a 3.3 percent increase in average selling price was offset by a 15.5 percent decline in unit volume.

In a news release, Larry Rogers, Sealy’s president and CEO, said, “Sealy’s third-quarter performance once again demonstrated our ability to positively impact our results despite ongoing challenges in the retail environment and heightened cost inflation. We completed the rollout of our new Posturepedic line during the quarter, which continued to gain traction and was a key driver of our results. ... We also continued to make progress during the third quarter on reducing our cost structure and effectively managing working capital.”

Rogers said the company expects market weakness and cost pressures to continue in the near term, and he said the company will continue executing strategic operating initiatives to allow Sealy to emerge as a leaner organization with improved profit potential when the market turns in a more positive direction.

The news release stated that the company has reduced volume-driven variable expenses by $6.3 million and trimmed fixed expenses by $5.3 million through a variety of cost-savings initiatives.