Steelcase Profit Down, But Tops View - Update

(RTTNews) - Office furniture maker Steelcase Inc. (SCS), Wednesday reported a drop in profit for the first quarter, as revenues declined sharply at EMEA. Nevertheless, both earnings and revenues came in ahead of Wall Street estimates.

Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Steelcase's first-quarter profit dropped to $20.0 million or $0.16 per share from $21.0 million or $0.17 per share last year.

Excluding one-time items, adjusted earnings for the quarter rose to $0.17 per share from $0.12 per share a year ago. On average, five analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.15 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company's revenues for the quarter dropped to $705.5 million from $723.1 million a year ago. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $703.6 million for the quarter.

"The Americas had an impressive first quarter, with a strong improvement in adjusted operating margin," said CEO Jim Keane. "At the same time, organic revenue growth in the Americas was dampened by a significant decline across the energy vertical market, and we continued to experience a significant number of customer requests for extended delivery dates."

Americas revenues rose 2.6 percent to $519.7 million, while EMEA plunged 18.8 percent to $119.9 million.

Looking forward to the second quarter, the company expects adjusted earnings of $0.30 to $0.34 per share. Analysts currently estimate earnings of $0.31 per share for the quarter.

SCS closed Wednesday's regular trading at $19.19 on the NYSE.