Crown Crafts, the Gonzales-based designer and marketer of baby products, says its quarterly sales increased but its earnings dropped. The company reported earning $775,000, or 8 cents per diluted share, for the quarter ending Dec. 26. That compares with earnings of $1.1 million, or 12 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Crown Crafts has blamed the drop on record-high costs for raw materials, primarily cotton, as well as increased costs for its China operations. Net sales were up 6.3%, from $20.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2010 to $21.9 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2011. Crown Crafts says sales increased, even though one of its major retail customers delayed orders in the quarter to adjust its inventory levels. The company says it boosted sales thanks to promotional sales to that customer. Crown Crafts shares were up slightly when trading markets opened, but are now down 5 cents a share, to trade at just around $5.
Crown Crafts earnings down, though sales up
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