MONTREAL–At its annual shareholders meeting yesterday, Dorel Industries officials said the company’s Ameriwood division has “turned the corner,” having posted its fourth consecutive profitable quarter.
The Ameriwood ready-to-assemble furniture division has been the focus of intensive restructuring after it was determined that its factory network exceeded anticipated market needs, the company said. It shut two plants and now has “two efficient plants in North America” instead of four three years ago.
“We had not commented on our RTA furniture business for some time, as we were not comfortable that things were solidly headed in the right direction,” said Jeffrey Schwartz, Dorel’s chief financial officer. “That has now changed. We have turned the corner at Ameriwood and we feel we will continue to make inroads in the RTA furniture industry, given our reduced manufacturing footprint, efficiencies and considerable new product pipeline, including items with mid to high price points,” Schwartz said in a statement.
As reported, for the period ended March 31, Dorel’s home furnishings segment posted quarterly revenue of $102.3 million, a 1 percent decline over the prior-year period, while income from operations was $1.59 million for the quarter.
