Herman Miller Inc. announced the plans of Ken Goodson to retire as an officer of the company at the end of the fiscal year. The terms of Mr. Goodson's ongoing arrangement are subject to final approval by the company's Executive Compensation Committee.

Herman Miller Inc. reported unaudited consolidated earnings results for the third quarter and nine months ended March 2, 2013. For the quarter, the company reported net sales of $423.5 million against $399.8 million a year ago. Operating earnings was $27.4 million against $25.3 million a year ago. Earnings before income taxes were $23.3 million against $21.4 million a year ago. Net earnings were $16.5 million or $0.28 per diluted share against net earnings of $14.9 million or $0.26 per diluted share a year ago. Excluding legacy pension expenses recognized in the period, adjusted operating earnings were $31 million or 7.4% of sales. Excluding the impact of legacy pension charges recognized in the quarter, adjusted earnings per share totaled $0.32, representing a 23% growth over third quarter of last year. Capital expenditures in the quarter were $10 million, which brings the year-to-date total to just over $40 million. For the nine months, the company reported net sales of $1,315.0 million against $1,303.5 million a year ago. Operating earnings was $79.2 million against $107.8 million a year ago. Earnings before income taxes were $66.2 million against $93.8 million a year ago. Net earnings were $44.8 million or $63.2 per diluted share against net earnings of $63.2 million or $1.08 per diluted share a year ago. Cash flows provided by operating activities were $77.3 million against $82.4 million a year ago. Adjusted earnings per diluted share were $1.03 against $1.08 a year ago. Adjusted operating earnings was $104.9 million The company expects net sales in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 to be in the range of $430 million to $450 million. This would represent an increase of between 2% and 7% from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012. Diluted earnings per share in the period are expected to range between $0.30 and $0.34. Excluding the impact of these pension costs, adjusted earnings per share in the quarter are expected to be between $0.34 and $0.38. This assumes an effective tax rate of approximately 27%, however, the company believe this rate could range between 24% and 30% depending on the outcome of variety of factors as the company close out the fiscal year. The company anticipate the fourth quarter gross margin to range between 34% and 34.5%, excluding the impact of legacy pension charges. In total, operating expense in the quarter are expected to range between $117 million and $119 million, excluding the legacy pension impact.

Herman Miller Inc., Q3 2013 Earnings Call, Mar 21, 2013