Herman Miller Reports Q4 Earnings

Herman Miller MLHR reported its fourth quarter earnings on Wednesday; shares of the company traded down 6.3 percent in after-hours trading.

The company reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of $0.50 versus an estimated $0.46, representing a beat of 16 percent.

In addition, the company reported revenue of $487.50 million versus an estimated 496.57 million, representing a beat of six percent.

The company also issued guidance and sees first-quarter earnings per share of $0.44 to $0.48 versus estimates of $0.48. It also sees revenue between $480 million versus $500 million while the estimate is $498.50 million.

Brian Walker, Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Our results this quarter reflected an overall pace and timing of new orders that was a bit slower than we anticipated through the first half of the quarter, but showed positive momentum as the period progressed. This late-quarter improvement drove healthy organic order growth for the quarter, resulting in an 11.7% increase in our ending backlog relative to last year. The uneven pace of orders is a reflection of the sluggish, albeit steady, pace of the global economic recovery. We continue to be encouraged by the pace of improvements in Europe, early signs of recovery in our business in Asia, and reports of strong project activity by architectural practices in North America."

Greg Bylsma, Chief Financial Officer, added, "It's important to note these acquisitions included forms of contingent consideration that were payable based on performance subsequent to the date of acquisition. These write-downs reflect, in part, that the performance levels needed to earn the additional consideration were not achieved. As a result, over time, we have also recorded gains as it became clear the contingent consideration would not be paid."

Shares of the company are up seven percent year-to-date.