Steelcase's Stock Drops After Disappointing Sales Offsets Profit Beat

Shares of Steelcase Inc. fell 7.5% in after-hours trade Monday, after the office furniture maker's better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter profit was offset by disappointing sales results. For the quarter ended Nov. 28, net profit fell to $11.8 million, or 9 cents a share, down from $23 million, or 18 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted per-share earnings were 29 cents, beating the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of 26 cents. Sales rose to $800 million from $784.8 million, but missed forecasts of $826 million, as the company said requests for extended delivery dates and the timing of the Thanksgiving holiday hurt revenue results. For the fiscal fourth quarter, the company expects adjusted earnings per share in the range of 19 cents to 23 cents and revenue of $760 million to $785 million, surrounding analyst projections of 20 cents and $772 million, respectively. The stock has gained 13% this year through Monday's close, in line with the S&P 500's 12% rise.