Mohawk Industries announces record fourth quarter and year earnings

Mohawk Industries Inc. has announced the highest quarterly net earnings in its history of $102,142,000 and diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.51 (both 21 percent above last year) for the fourth quarter of 2003. This compares to $84,201,000 in net earnings and $1.25 in EPS for the fourth quarter of 2002. This improvement was the result of strong sales growth, increased operating income and lower interest costs. Net sales for the quarter increased 14 percent to $1,369,991,000 from $1,203,476,000 in 2002. This increase was primarily the result of strong internal growth of both Mohawk and Dal-Tile products and the Lees Carpet acquisition completed during the quarter end.

Additionally, the fourth quarter of 2003 had one additional day when compared to 2002 which added approximately 2 percent to the sales growth.