Herman Miller shares are trading higher after-hours: here’s why

Herman Miller Inc (NASDAQ: MLHR) reported mixed results for its fiscal first quarter on Wednesday, after the bell. Shares of the company, however, jumped more than 5.0% in extended trading as investors focused on Q2 guidance that beat forecasts.

Q1 financial performance

Herman Miller said its net earnings in Q1 came in at $61.5 million versus the year-ago figure of $73 million. On a per-share basis, it earned 49 cents a share (adjusted), as per the earnings press release.

The furniture company generated $789.7 million in sales that represents an annualised growth of 26%. According to Refinitiv, experts had forecast 50 cents of adjusted EPS on $648.2 million in net sales.

Future guidance and other notable figures

For the current quarter (Q2), Herman Miller forecasts up to 61 cents of adjusted per-share earnings on $1.025 billion to $1.065 billion in net sales. In comparison, analysts are calling for 57 cents of adjusted EPS on $748.3 million in revenue.

Other notable figures in the Nasdaq-listed firm’s earnings report include gross margin that declined to 35.1% from last year’s 39.9%. Herman Miller valued its orders and backlogs at $916.5 million and $835.9 million, respectively.

Herman Miller acquired Knoll Inc

Herman Miller completed the acquisition of Knoll Inc in the recent quarter. Commenting on that, the company said in its press release: