"The record sales in our modular business drove improved profitability, which increased 34% from the same period last year. In our Bentley Prince Street business, we continued to see improvement, with revenue growth of 17% and increased profitability. During the quarter, we had a $24.3 million net increase in cash, while the July sale of our fabrics division has further contributed to strengthening our balance sheet and reducing debt."
For the first six months of 2007, sales from continuing operations were $508.5 million, compared with $421.3 million for the same period a year ago, an increase of 20.7%. Operating income for the 2007 six-month period was $55.2 million (including a loss of $1.9 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, on the disposal of assets in its specialty products business), versus operating income of $44.2 million for the comparable 2006 six-month period.
Income from continuing operations was $22.4 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, in the 2007 six-month period, compared with income from continuing operations of $13.9 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, in the same period a year ago. Including results of discontinued operations, net loss for the first six months of 2007 was $39.6 million, or $0.64 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $11.2 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, for the 2006 first half.
Mr. Hendrix concluded, "With the sale of our fabrics business, we are now completely focused on our core floorcovering businesses. As demonstrated by the record results for modular carpet during the second quarter, we are benefiting from a secular shift toward modular applications and our segmentation strategy is driving growth in non-office commercial segments."
"With modular orders increasing 30% during the quarter, we are growing faster than the overall market and building market share. While we do not know how long we will sustain this rate of growth, we are very optimistic about the strength of our markets and are confident that we have the right strategy in place to continue to capitalize on our market opportunities and gain market share."
"Business has remained robust during the first three weeks of the third quarter, and we are very excited for the prospects of the Company as we move into the second half of the year."
The Company will host a conference call on July 26, 2007, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, to discuss its second quarter 2007 results.
marketing@alchempro.com
