Steelcase Inc. reported record net sales of $985.5 million for its second quarter ended August 25, 2000, an increase of 18 percent compared with $831.9 million in the prior year. It reflects continued growth from new and established products around the world and global strength in the industry, according to Steelcase.
Net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2001 was $53.7 million, an increase of 41 percent from $38.2 million in the second quarter of the prior year, and comparable to last quarter’s reported net income, exclusive of one-time gains, of $57.2 million.
Chief financial officer Alwyn Rougier-Chapman says, “Quarterly sales and orders have outpaced the industry, and earnings and operating margins were significantly above the same period last year. Shifting product mix in customer orders and competitive pricing pressures on some of our established product lines, however, have restrained operating margin growth. Additionally, we experienced increased material costs as well as production challenges keeping up with record unit volumes in the quarter. Consequently, our pace of operating margin improvement slowed relative to our achievement in the previous quarter.”
For further information on Steelcase visit www.steelcase.com.
