High Point - US circular knitter Culp Inc has narrowed its loss for its third quarter, helped an increase in sales across its mattress ticking sector.
Net sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 were $60.4 million, up 15% compared with the same period last year with mattress fabrics sales up 21.6% and upholstery fabrics sales up 9.2%.
Net loss was $3.2 million, compared with a net loss of $9.0 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2023.
Commenting on the results, Iv Culp, president and chief executive officer of Culp, Inc., said: “We are pleased to report continued year-over-year and sequential improvement in our consolidated sales and operating performance for the third quarter. Both of our core business segments reported increased revenue year-over-year, which is impressive considering the challenging demand environment in the bedding and furniture industries.”
Sales for the mattress ticking segment were $30 million, up 21.6% compared with sales of $24.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2023. The higher sales were primarily driven by new fabric and sewn cover placements that were priced in line with current costs.
Operating loss for the mattress segment was $1.6 million, a significant improvement compared to the $4.2 million operating loss in the prior-year period. This reduction in losses was driven by higher sales, coming mostly from better pricing and a more favourable product mix, Culp said, adding that these factors were partially offset by production inefficiencies relating to the start-up of certain new product launches, as well as higher SG&A business investments during the period.
"In our mattress fabrics segment, we continued our significant year-over-year improvement in sales and operating performance, driven largely by a focus on new fabric and cover placements that are priced with proper margins and in line with current raw material costs,” Culp added. “However, the sequential results for this segment, as compared to the second quarter, reflect ongoing market weakness in the bedding industry, as well as internal efficiency issues primarily related to the start-up and production of certain new products and costs for these program launches that occurred during the quarter.”
