Leggett 1Q Earnings Off on Charges

Carthage, MO, April 21, 2006-- Leggett & Platt Inc., maker of home and office furniture and fixtures and carpet underlay, reported first-quarter earnings fell 15 percent, hurt by a restructuring charge. Net income dropped to $62.1 million, or 33 cents a share, from $72.8 million, or 37 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The restructuring charge took 4 cents off per-share earnings. Analysts expected earnings of 35 cents a share on revenue of $1.34 billion. Sales of Leggett's residential furnishings, the company's largest business segment, rose 8 percent to $693.3 million. Acquisitions contributed $43 million to the $53 million increase. Same-store sales were up 3 percent versus a rise of 7.4% in the same quarter last year. Sales rose 5.9 percent to $1.38 billion from $1.30 billion last year. Leggett left its full-year guidance unchanged, saying it is on track to meet its target of 15 percent to 35 percent growth in per-share earnings with 5 percent sales growth.