MONTREAL, Canada - Consumer products manufacturer Dorel Industries Inc., which saw its first-quarter profit fall 11 % due to a number of factors, said that price increases for its customers are inevitable.
The company, which makes products such as bicycles, cribs, car seats, ready-to-assemble furniture and other consumer products, attributed the lower profit to a variety of operational factors and the rising cost of materials it uses. The Montreal-based company, which keeps its accounts in U.S. dollars, reported a drop in January-March revenue to US$451 million from a year-earlier US$471.9 million, with the home furniture division hardest hit.
In addition to factory tangles, which resulted in missed deliveries to retailers, cancelled orders and other woes, supply of particleboard "is exceedingly tight," he said.
The recreational/leisure division, a large marketer of bicycles, showed a 7% revenue decline to US$77.2 million as a major customer cut its inventory.
But the Pacific Cycle independent retailer channel continues to grow, and Dorel is hopeful about a new Wal-Mart bicycle boutique concept being tested in Texas.
He also noted progress in China, where Mongoose has won a deal to supply the Chinese national team at the Beijing Olympics.
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