On April 21, Carthage, Missouri, US-based Leggett & Platt (Leggett), a leading producer of drawn steel wire and bed springs in addition to other manufacturing products, issued its financial results for the first quarter of 2010, stating that the company has been encouraged by the market improvement and sales growth seen during the first quarter.
According to the financial results, the net profit of the company was $45.1 million in the first quarter of 2010, compared with a net profit of $3.3 million in the first quarter of 2009. Sales revenues in the first quarter of 2010 saw an increase of 14 percent, rising from $816.4 million in same quarter of the previous year to $718.1 million. The EBITDA of the company was $110.5 million in the first quarter of 2010, compared with an EBITDA of $49 million in the first quarter of 2009, increasing 126 percent.
Meanwhile, Leggett & Platt's board of directors declared a $0.26 first quarter dividend, one cent higher than last year's first quarter dividend.
Leggett anticipates full year 2010 sales of approximately $3.1-3.4 billion.
Commenting on the results, the company's president and CEO David S. Haffner said, "The growth, combined with last year's significant cost reduction efforts, led to meaningful earnings improvement. Gross margin remained over 20 percent, despite a noteworthy increase in steel costs during the first quarter."