* Q3 EPS $0.12 vs year-ago loss $0.10/shr
* New orders up 3.8 percent
* Shares down 5 pct after market
(Adds comparison to analyst estimates, share movement)
March 17 (Reuters) - Office furniture maker Herman Miller Inc posted a third-quarter profit that missed analyst expectations, but said new orders improved after five consecutive quarters of decline.
New orders in the quarter were $290 million, 3.8 percent higher from a year-ago period.
'While overall industry conditions remain challenging, this serves as a measurable signal that business conditions have stopped deteriorating,' said Brian Walker, chief executive officer of the company.
Demand for office furniture has taken a hit due to high office vacancies and corporate downsizing as firms cut costs to weather the downturn.
For the third quarter, the company's net income was $8.3 million, or 12 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $5.2 million, or 10 cents a share, a year ago.
Excluding items, it earned 15 cents a share.
Revenue fell 7 percent to $329.6 million.
Analysts were expecting earnings of 18 cents a share on revenue of $334.6 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Margins improved 190 basis points to 31.8 percent during the period.
Shares of the company were trading at $19.05 after the bell. They closed at $20.07 Wednesday on Nasdaq. They have risen about 13 percent in the last one month.
(Reporting by A.Ananthalakshmi in Bangalore; Editing by Jarshad Kakkrakandy) Keywords: HERMANMILLER/ (ananthalakshmi.as@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters Messaging: ananthalakshmi.as.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
* New orders up 3.8 percent
* Shares down 5 pct after market
(Adds comparison to analyst estimates, share movement)
March 17 (Reuters) - Office furniture maker Herman Miller Inc posted a third-quarter profit that missed analyst expectations, but said new orders improved after five consecutive quarters of decline.
New orders in the quarter were $290 million, 3.8 percent higher from a year-ago period.
'While overall industry conditions remain challenging, this serves as a measurable signal that business conditions have stopped deteriorating,' said Brian Walker, chief executive officer of the company.
Demand for office furniture has taken a hit due to high office vacancies and corporate downsizing as firms cut costs to weather the downturn.
For the third quarter, the company's net income was $8.3 million, or 12 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $5.2 million, or 10 cents a share, a year ago.
Excluding items, it earned 15 cents a share.
Revenue fell 7 percent to $329.6 million.
Analysts were expecting earnings of 18 cents a share on revenue of $334.6 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Margins improved 190 basis points to 31.8 percent during the period.
Shares of the company were trading at $19.05 after the bell. They closed at $20.07 Wednesday on Nasdaq. They have risen about 13 percent in the last one month.
(Reporting by A.Ananthalakshmi in Bangalore; Editing by Jarshad Kakkrakandy) Keywords: HERMANMILLER/ (ananthalakshmi.as@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters Messaging: ananthalakshmi.as.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.