MONTREAL — Improved margins in ready-to-assemble furniture


helped Dorel Inds. to a 15.5% earnings increase in the first quarter, the company reported today.

Dorel, which reports in U.S. dollars, said it earned $27.9 million, or 85 cents per share, on sales of $455.7 million, which were up about 1% from the comparable period last year.

The company said improvements at its RTA company Ameriwood led to a gross margin improvement, with sales close to the level of a year ago. Dorel said the division was “slightly profitable.” Particleboard prices have stabilized and are expected to remain at current levels for the rest of the year, it added.

Total home furnishings segment revenue was down 8.4% from a year earlier to $122.6 million, mainly because of a decline in the Dorel Asia imports division. A change in commission structure by certain customers led to about half of the revenue drop, the company said.

Earnings from operations in the home furnishings segment declined to $2.4 million in the quarter from $4.6 million a year earlier. Compared with adjusted earnings of $5.1 million last year, which excludes about $500,000 related to Ameriwood restructuring, the earnings drop was 52.4%.

Dorel said this year’s first-quarter results also include pretax restructuring costs of $2.1 million, or $1.4 million after taxes, related to operational changes in its Dorel Europe division. Excluding all restructuring costs in both years, the company said its earnings were $29.3 million, or 89 cents per share, an increase of 19.7% from $24.5 million, or 75 cents per share, in the 2013 period.

In addition to Ameriwood, Dorel sells RTA furniture under the Carina, SystemBuild, Altra and Ridgewood brands. It also has operations in the office products, juvenile goods and recreational products segments.