Herman Miller Q4 Results Top Street, Outlook Strong; Shares Up 12%

(RTTNews) - Shares of Herman Miller Inc. (MLHR) surged over 12% on extended trading session Wednesday after the furniture maker's fourth-quarter results and outlook for the current quarter trumped Wall Street analysts' estimates.

Herman Miller's third-quarter profit rose to $46.2 million or $0.78 per share from $31.8 million or $0.53 per share last year.

On an adjusted basis, earnings for the quarter rose to $0.88 per share from $0.66 per share last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.77 per share for the quarter.

The company's revenue for the quarter rose 8.6% to $671.0 million from $618.0 million last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $657.23 million for the quarter.

New orders in the fourth quarter of $664.5 million were 7.0% above the prior year level.

CEO Andi Owen said, "Strong demand was a clear highlight of our results as we finished the quarter setting all-time records for quarterly and annual net sales for our Company. We leveraged this demand to deliver meaningful operating margin expansion over the same quarter last year."

Looking forward to the first quarter, Herman Miller expects adjusted earnings of $0.77 to $0.81 per share and sales of $650 million to $670 million. Analysts currently estimate earnings of $0.76 per share and revenues of $651.55 million.

$35.06, down $0.87 or 2.42%, on the Nasdaq. The stock, however, gained $1.74 or 4.96% in the after-hours trading.

MLHR closed Wednesday's trading at $37.83, up $0.72 or 1.94%, on the Nasdaq. The stock, further rose $4.76 or 12.58% in the after-hours trade.