Local manufacturers report mixed quarterly results

Two local manufacturers posted vastly different quarterly earnings.

Carthage-based Leggett & Platt Inc. (NYSE: LEG) reported a boost, while Springfield-based Paul Mueller Co. (OTC: MUEL) experienced a decline.

Leggett & Platt
The maker of engineered components and products for homes, offices and vehicles ended the second quarter with $121.2 million in net income, a 56 percent increase compared with $77.7 million earnings a year earlier, according to a news release.

Diluted share earnings rose 19 cents to 72 cents a share.

"We continue to be pleased with our operational progress in 2016, despite softer-than-forecasted volume growth,” Leggett & Platt President and CEO Karl Glassman said in the release. “During the second quarter, we generated higher margins, strong cash flow from operations and record second-quarter (earnings per share).”

Second-quarter financial notes:
    •    Net sales dropped 4 percent to $958.9 million.
    •    As cost of goods fell, gross profit improved 1.4 percent to $234 million.
    •    During the quarter, Leggett & Platt repurchased 1.2 million shares of its stock at an average price of $49.39, an investment of roughly $59 million.

As of June 30, Leggett & Platt held assets of $3 billion, according to the release.

LEG shares were trading at $52.62 as of 9:59 a.m., compared with a 52-week range of $36.64 to $54.62.

Mueller Co.
Due, in part, to previously announced expenditures, Paul Mueller Co.’s quarterly profits dropped 75 percent to $762,000, or 63 cents per diluted share, from $3 million, or $2.45 per diluted share, a year earlier.

During the quarter, the Springfield stainless steel tank manufacturer incurred a $312,000 expense as part of a $2 million repair to the roof of its main Springfield building. The company also had a $1 million reduction in pretax income related to pension settlements, according to a news release.

Second-quarter financial notes:
    •    Net sales dipped 8.4 percent to $45.5 million.
    •    Of net revenue, $27.8 million came from domestic sales.
    •    Gross profit was $12.8 million, a 14.7 percent decrease.

Mueller Co.’s assets as of June 30 were $118.8 million.

The company’s over-the-counter stock closed yesterday at $27.50, compared with a 52-week range of $23 to $35.