Herman Miller Narrows Q3 Sales Outlook; Cuts FY15 Sales Guidance

(RTTNews) - Office furniture maker Herman Miller Inc (MLHR) said Monday that it now expects to report third quarter 2015 net sales of $513 million to $518 million, compared to its prior guidance of $510 million to $530 million.

The company also said it expects to report new orders in the range of $497 million to $502 million in the third quarter, an increase of 7.1% to 8.2% from the prior year level.

Brian Walker, Chief Executive Officer of Herman Miller, said, "The relative weakness in order pacing of our North American contract business that we reported last quarter continued in the third quarter.

Based on third quarter order trends, the company now expects net sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 to be in the range of $530 million to $560 million and full year net sales for fiscal 2015 to be in the range of $2.118 billion to $2.153 billion. Previously, the company forecast full year fiscal 2015 net sales of $2.15 billion to $2.19 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to post revenue of $518.33 million for the third quarter, $571.83 million for the fourth quarter and $2.17 billion for the fiscal year 2015.

Herman Miller also announced some leadership promotions and appointments, effective immediately.

Greg Bylsma, previously Chief Financial Officer at Herman Miller, has been named Chief Operating Officer of Herman Miller North America (Work and Learning), following Curt Pullen's decision to step down from the company.

Malisa Bryant, previously Vice President of North America Sales at Herman Miller, has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Sales and Distribution for Herman Miller North America (Work and Learning). She will report directly to CEO Brian Walker.

Jeff Stutz, previously Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer at Herman Miller, has been promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the company.