Shaw Industries, Inc. announced that it expects second quarter 2000 earnings will be in the range of .47 to .50 cents per share. This compares to .48 cents per share in the same quarter last year and to a current consensus estimate of .55 cents per share for this quarter. Continued increases in raw materials and other energy-related costs have had a detrimental impact on gross margins for the quarter. The company said it passed on the majority of these costs via a price increase. However, the full impact of the price increase will not be felt until the third quarter of 2000, when the company expects gross margins to return to a more normal level.
In addition, softer sales in the residential sector also contributed to a less than normal month of sales for April. Shaw Industries is continuing to see above double-digit growth in the commercial sector for the second quarter and expects top line carpet sales for the quarter to be up 3-4% compared to the second quarter of 1999 (after excluding sales from the company’s Australian subsidiary, which will be counted in the entire second quarter for 1999, but only for the month of April in the current quarter).
From officeinsightTM
