Fabric supplier Culp Inc., headquartered in High Point, N.C., reports that net sales for its fiscal fourth quarter ended May 1, were $60.4 million, up 5.5% over the same quarter in 2010. The mattress fabric segment was up 5.3% and upholstery fabrics were up 5.7%. It is the highest quarterly sales gain in three years, the company said.
Culp reported pretax income of $4.7 million, or 7.7% of sales in the fiscal fourth quarter, compared with $5 million, or 8.7% of sales in the prior–year period.
Net income was $6 million, or $0.45 per diluted share, compared with net income of $5.4 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010.
Net income for the quarter included a $1.3 million income tax benefit; net income for the prior–year period included an income tax benefit of $436,000.
Mattress fabric sales for the fourth quarter were $35.2 million. For fiscal 2011, mattress fabric sales were $122.4 million, up 6.6% compared to fiscal 2010.
“Our mattress fabrics business had a solid fourth–quarter performance, with the highest quarterly sales of fiscal 2011,” said Frank Saxon, Culp chief executive officer. “Notably, sales were higher compared with a strong fourth–quarter period in fiscal 2010.”
He continued: “We are continuing to benefit from our capital investments and recent operating initiatives to further build upon our efficient and scalable manufacturing platform, especially in our knitted fabrics area. Our operating margins for the year were slightly lower due to significantly higher raw materials costs and selling price pressures. We are pleased with our operating performance in mattress fabrics and look forward to additional opportunities to leverage our success in the year ahead.”
Net sales for fiscal 2011 totaled $216.8 million, up 5% over fiscal 2010. Mattress fabric sales were up 6.6% over fiscal 2010 while upholstery fabric sales were up 3.1%.
Pretax income for fiscal 2011 was $15.1 million, compared with a pretax income of $14.3 million in fiscal 2010—6.9% of sales for both periods.
Net income for the fiscal year was $16.2 million, or $1.22 per diluted share, compared with $13.2 million, or $1.01 per diluted share, in the prior year. Net income for fiscal 2011 included a $1.1 million income tax benefit; net income for fiscal 2010 included an income tax expense of $1.1 million.
The company said its financial position strengthened “considerably” during fiscal 2011 with cash, cash equivalents and short–term investments totaling $30.9 million at year–end and exceeding total debt of $11.5 million. The company increased its total cash and short–term investment position by $9.6 million during the year, while investing significantly in capital expenditures of $6.4 million and building working capital of $3.6 million to support higher sales.
