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Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Crash Index -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Secret_Agent_Man who wrote (263732)	7/24/2010 11:31:48 AM
From: Smiling Bob	Respond to of 306849

There's now a lot of money beginning to float around. Corporate america and WS are swimming in cash. But it will be a long time before it ever filters down to mainstream America. When it does finally arrive, it's worth will be a tiny fraction of where it was when it left the treasury as more and more goes to taxes and higher priced necessities. I have to wonder how much anticipatory restocking is happening and how long it will be before they realize the US consumer discretionary market will be continuing to shrink at accelerating rate. The trick is to figure out when the market acknowledges and concedes to the ultimate outcome ---- Leggett & Platt profits soar as sales rise 15.4% Residential furnishings segment sales rise 8.8% Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, July 23, 2010 CARTHAGE, Mo. — Components supplier Leggett & Platt said its second-quarter profits were more than double last year's second quarter as sales rose 15.4% The company reported increases in all four of its business segments, including the largest, residential furnishings, which recorded an 8.8% sales increase. "We are encouraged to see continued sales growth," said David Haffner, president and CEO. "This quarter's 15% growth, and the associated higher capacity utilization, led to meaningful earnings improvement." Sales for the quarter ended June 30 totaled $874.3 million, up from $757.4 million in the same quarter in 2009. Net income was $52.7 million or 34 cents per share. That compares with $19 million or 12 cents per share in last year's second quarter. "Near term, growth should significantly exceed our 4-5% long-term goal as the economy recovers," said Haffner. "With our excess production capacity, sales can rebound approximately 25%-33% (to $4 billion or more) before we anticipate the need for significant capital investment." The residential furnishings segment recorded second-quarter sales of $457.4 million. In last year's second quarter, the total was $420.3 million. For the first six months of this year, sales in that segment totaled $891.8 million, an increase of 6.9% from $834.3 million in the first half of 2009. Companywide sales for the first half of this year were $1.69 billion, up 14.6% from $1.48 billion in the first half of last year. Six-month earnings totaled $97.8 million or 63 cents per share. That's up from $22.3 million or 14 cents per share in the first half of last year. The company said it is projecting sales for the full year at $3.2 billion to $3.4 billion. Earnings are projected to be $1.10 to $1.30 per share. Those estimates are at the upper end of projections