What happened
Shares of Herman Miller (MLHR 2.27%) were down 13.8% as of 2 p.m. EST Thursday, after the home and office furnishings specialist posted mixed fiscal second-quarter 2020 results, and followed with disappointing forward guidance.
So what
Herman Miller's quarterly net sales climbed 3.3% year over year to $674.2 million, translating to a 17.3% increase in adjusted (non-GAAP) net income to $0.88 per share. Analysts, on average, were expecting slightly lower earnings of $0.87 per share, but on higher revenue of $695.8 million.
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Herman Miller CEO Andi Owen noted in a press release that the company beat bottom-line expectations despite "an uncertain global economic and geopolitical environment."
"Second quarter sales were impacted by lower than anticipated order levels," Owen elaborated, "which reflected the uneven demand patterns we're seeing across the broader industry and the natural variability in a project-driven business."
To be sure, new orders during the quarter fell 4.2% year over year to $674.9 million.
Now what
Herman Miller expects fiscal third-quarter 2020 net sales ranging from $672 million to $692 million. The midpoint of that range would be good for organic growth of 3%, and was slightly better than Wall Street's estimate of $675 million. On the bottom line, however, the company anticipates that will mean adjusted earnings of $0.68 to $0.72 per share, well below the $0.75 per share most analysts were modeling.
