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Sealy income rises 10.2% as sales dip 13.7%

Cost reduction measures proving effective

Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, September 30, 2009

ARCHDALE, N.C. — Bedding major Sealy said its third-quarter net income rose 10.2% despite a 13.7% decline in sales.

The company said the results demonstrate the effectiveness of several cost-reduction measures, as well as its ability to grow profitable market share.

"While the global macroeconomic and retail environments remain challenging, we believe our focus on the aspects of our business that we can control is paying off," said Larry Rogers, president and CEO.

He said a prime example is the company's success with the recently revamped Stearns & Foster line.

"Efforts like this are enabling us to begin to realize improvements in our operations and positioning us to benefit more when the economy improves," Rogers said.

Worldwide sales for the quarter ended Aug. 30 totaled $349.6 million, compared with $405 million in the same quarter last year.

Domestic sales, excluding third-party sales to Sealy's component plants, were $251.8 million. That's down 12.9% from $289 million in the comparable period in 2008.

The company said the average unit selling price increased 0.1% in the quarter while unit volume fell 12.9%.

The most recent quarter's net income totaled $12.1 million, up from $10.9 million in the same quarter last year.

On a per-share basis, earnings were 5 cents in the most recent quarter and 12 cents a year ago. There were a substantially larger number of shares outstanding - 279.2 million - in the most recent quarter, compared with 93.5 million shares last year.

For the nine months ended Aug. 30, sales fell 18.3% to $958 million. Nine-month net income tumbled 70% to $11.6 million, or 9 cents per share.

Rogers said the company is beginning to see some positive signs in the marketplace, but "not with sufficient consistency to definitively conclude we are in a turnaround."

"We continue to remain vigilant on right-sizing our cost structure and rebuilding gross margins in order to maximize our cash flow," he added.

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Sealy income rises in 3Q

Oct 5, 2009

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