Interface Swings to Profit on Higher Sales

Atlanta, GA, April 29, 2010--Improving sales helped Interface Inc. to a first-quarter profit.

The company had net income of $1.9 million and earnings of $0.03 a share, compared with a net loss of $4.2 million and a loss per share of $0.07 in the first quarter of 2009.

First-quarter sales increased 9% to $217.2 million.

“The first quarter was a very encouraging start to the year, especially when you consider that historically it's our slowest period, seasonally,” said CEO Daniel T. Hendrix, in a press release.

“We experienced our first year-over-year increase in overall sales, and, perhaps most importantly, within the corporate office segment as well, since the economic crisis hit in 2008. Our improved performance also reflected the continued successful execution of our end-market diversification strategy, as we saw solid growth in the education, retail and hospitality sectors, and the ongoing secular shift in overall market demand towards carpet tile.”

Hendrix said the company had excellent results in the Asia-Pacific region, while North America also improved. Europe, the weakest region for the company, “held up well.” China, India and Latin America, were “remarkably robust.”

Analyst Stifel Nicolaus noted that U.S. modular sales were up 9% while U.S. commercial carpet sales were down about 9%. "This speaks to both carpet tile share gain and company specific share gain."

It also noted that first quarter orders exceeded fourth quarter orders, which rarely happens due to seasonal factors.