"The acquisition of the mattress fabrics product line of International Textile Group Inc's Burlington House Division ("ITG"), acquired at the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2007, has furthered our growth strategy in this segment. The upholstery fabrics segment continued to face significant industry-wide challenges during the quarter."
"However, with our China platform and the aggressive restructuring of our U.S. upholstery fabric operations, we believe we are now better positioned to meet these challenges, remain profitable and benefit from any upturn in overall demand."
Mattress Fabrics Segment: Mattress fabric (known as mattress ticking) sales for the first quarter were $36.5 million, a 67 percent increase compared with $21.8 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2007. This trend reflects the incremental sales related to the company's acquisition of ITG's mattress fabrics product line and organic growth. Mattress fabric sales represented over 56 percent of total company sales.
On a unit volume basis, total yards sold increased by 58 percent compared with the first quarter of fiscal 2007. The average selling price of $2.44 per yard for the first quarter of fiscal 2008 increased six percent over the same period a year ago, reflecting a shift in product mix toward more knitted fabrics.
Operating income for this segment was $3.8 million, or 10.3 percent of sales, compared with $1.9 million, or 8.5 percent of sales, for the prior-year period. These operating results also include transition costs of approximately $500,000 incurred during the first quarter of fiscal 2008.
marketing@alchempro.com
