CARTHAGE, Mo.–Third-quarter net income for Leggett & Platt dived 50 percent to $32.7 million.
Sales at the diversified products manufacturer rose 3.7 percent in the quarter, to $1.1 billion, including a 4.3 percent rise in same-location sales. However, rising raw-materials costs and a loss from discontinued operations cut deeply into Leggett & Platt’s bottom line, even though the company said it passed some of those cost increases to its customers. The company’s residential-furnishings segment posted a 2 percent sales increase in the third quarter, reaching $575.8 million.
A company statement said Leggett & Platt is bracing for a difficult fourth quarter, with sales about $200 million less than the third quarter due to weak market demand overall. For all of 2008, Leggett & Platt said sales would be $4.1 billion, about 3 percent below 2007.
