Income at Greenville-based Span America Medical Systems dropped by more than half in the first quarter compared to the prior year. The company reported income for the first quarter 2014 ended Dec. 28, 2013.
Span-America manufactures pressure-management products for the medical market such as therapeutic beds, medical bed frames and other health products, as well as foam and packaging products for consumer and industrial markets.
The company attributed the drop in sales and earnings to lower sales of consumer bedding products. “Last year, we benefited from a consumer promotion with a large retail customer that generated $5.8 million in sales. This promotion was not repeated in the most recent quarter and resulted in lower consumer sales, reduced gross profit and lower net income compared with the first quarter of last fiscal year,” said Jim Ferguson, president and CEO of Span-America, in a release.
In addition, the loss of a large retail customer for everyday bedding products in a routine bidding process is expected to lower full fiscal year 2014 earnings by $0.10 to $0.15 per diluted share compared with fiscal 2013, offsetting potential gains from new products and cross-selling in Span-America’s medical segment.
