On Friday, Knoll Inc. (KNL) posted a 7.5% growth in GAAP second quarter 2010 earnings to $8.7 million from $8.1 million in the year-ago quarter. Excluding special items, adjusted earnings per share came in at 22 cents, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 11 cents on the back of better-than-expected sales.
Knoll is engaged in designing and manufacturing of office furniture products and textiles for customers across the globe. The company offers products under five categories: Office Systems, Seating, Wood Casegoods, Files and Storage, and Tables and Desks. Net sales during the quarter declined 4.9% to $192.3 million from $202.2 million in the year-ago period.
Knoll recorded lower year-over-year sales across all product lines with Office Systems witnessing the largest decline. In terms of geographic regions, North America recorded lower sales, while Europe posted improved performance. The company’s order backlog at the end of the quarter fell 1.2% to $132.5 million from $134.1 million in the prior year quarter.
Knoll’s gross profit slipped 10.9% year-over-year to $63.0 million, while gross margin decreased 220 basis points (bps) to 32.8%. The lower gross margin was primarily attributable to reduced prices and adverse foreign currency translations. Operating income during the quarter declined 35.5% year-over-year to $11.9 million, while operating margin decreased 290 bps to 6.2%.
Knoll exited the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $10.4 million with long-term debt-to-capitalization of 74.1%, compared to a cash balance of $13.8 million and long-term debt-to-capitalization of 83.6% in the year-ago period. During the second quarter, the company generated $19.8 million of cash from operations and deployed $13.0 million towards debt repayment and $1.5 million towards capital expenditure.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate on Knoll’s earnings for 2010 is currently pegged at 64 cents per share, which moved up 3 cents in just the past week as 1 of 4 covering analysts raised expectations. The most accurate estimate for the year is even bullish at 65 cents per share, indicating a potential upside of 1.6% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
We currently have a long-term Neutral recommendation and a short-term Zacks #3 Rank (Hold) rating on Knoll’s shares.
Read the full analyst report on “KNL”
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