Weak orders drive down earnings for Steelcase in Q2 2017

GRAND RAPIDS — Declining order volumes hampered revenues for office furniture maker Steelcase Inc. in its second quarter of its 2017 fiscal year, which ended Aug. 26, 2016.

The Grand Rapids-based manufacturer generated $758 million in revenues during the quarter, missing analysts’ expectations by more than $27 million. Steelcase’s (NYSE: SCS) second quarter results declined nearly 7.5 percent from the same period a year ago, based on the company’s strong performance with $819 million in revenue.

Revenues in Steelcase’s Americas divisions and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) market declined by 7.2 percent and nearly 12 percent, respectively, during the quarter.

Continued headwinds from Brexit and “other political factors” are the primary reason for the decline in its EMEA markets, President and CEO Jim Keane said in a statement. Specifically, sales in the U.K., Germany and the Middle East drove the majority of the decline.

Smaller order backlogs and a weak period for orders in July both contributed to driving down earnings in Steelcase’s Americas market, according to the statement.

While revenues dipped, earnings per share remained stagnant, reaching 31 cents per share compared to the 30 cents per share the company generated during the same period the year prior.

Steelcase expects its luck to turn in the present third quarter of its 2017 fiscal year and aims to generate revenue growth of between 1 percent and 4 percent.