Office furniture maker Steelcase Inc. (SCS), Wednesday reported an increase in profit for the third quarter, driven mainly by higher revenues from Americas. Earnings for the quarter were inline with analysts' estimates, while revenues surpassed Street expectations. Moving ahead, the company issued its guidance for the fourth quarter.
The Grand Rapids, Michigan-based company's net income for the third quarter improved to $22.4 million or $0.17 per share from $18.3 million or $0.14 per share last year.
Excluding restructuring costs, adjusted earnings were $0.19 per share. On average, four analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.19 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Steelcase said its earnings reflected a decrease in the cash surrender value of variable life company owned life insurance.
Revenues for the quarter grew to $719.4 million from $672.6 million last year. Three Wall Street analysts, on a consensus, estimated revenues of $707.43 million for the quarter.
Revenues from Americas segment grew 19.1 percent, while EMEA revenues dropped 1.1 percent from last year. Revenues from others, which includes Asia Pacific, PolyVision and Disigntex, also declined 27.6 percent.
Chief Executive James Hackett said "Based on the strength of third quarter orders and the highest backlog in more than three years, we expect this momentum to continue in the fourth quarter."
Looking forward to the fourth quarter, Steelcase expects earnings in a range of $0.09 to $0.13 per share, including restructuring costs of about $0.04 per share. Analysts currently expect earnings of $0.17 per share for the quarter.
The company anticipates to generate revenues in a range of $675 million to $700 million for the fourth quarter. Wall Street analysts currently expect revenues of $662.73 million for the quarter.
Steelcase also declared a dividend of $0.06 per share, to be paid on or before January 13, 2012 to shareholders as of January 3, 2012.
SCS closed Wednesday's trading on the NYSE at $7.76, up $0.01 or 0.13%, on a volume of 0.7 million shares. The stock rose over $0.03 or 0.39% in after-hours trade.
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