| Mattress Maker Select Comfort Sees Strong Growth and Luxury, Discount Chains Likely Led Strong Dec. Sales |
| News - Financial News |
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Reinforce that promise with a TV ad campaign and spruced-up products, and you've got the makings for hefty sales and profit gains. Look no further than Select Comfort (SCSS) for proof.The nontraditional mattress maker and retailer's Sleep Number beds sell for $899 to $5,000. But consumers don't seem to be squawking about the price.Select Comfort offers mattresses with adjustable air-chamber technology on each side of the bed. The company has been growing revenue. View Enlarged ImageSales and profits have grown by double digits the past three quarters. Most recently, in the third quarter, sales popped 25% vs. a year ago to $199.6 million. Profits surged 63% to 31 cents a share. Same-store sales at all channels, including Sleep Number stores, call centers and online, soared 26% from a year earlier. [Read the full article] Chrysler sales shot up in December 37% from a year ago, while at Ford (F) they rose 10% and at General Motors (GM) 5%. Both Chrysler and GM said they expect the industry's seasonally adjusted annual sales rate for the especially brisk month to come in at 13.9 million to 14 million vehicles, when all automakers' results are tallied. Higher than the lift analysts have been forecasting, that would be the fifth month in a row that the selling pace has risen.Year-over-year U.S. sales in December for the two largest Asian makers, Toyota Motor (TM) and Honda Motor (HMC), rose 0.4% and fell 18.8%, respectively. IBD'S nine-company auto manufacturers industry group gained more than 4% in the stock market Wednesday.Americans are finally replacing aging vehicles after putting that off during the recession. On Tuesday, analysts at auto research firm Polk projected that 2012 U.S. auto sales would reach 13.7 million, which would be up 7.3% from the company's estimate across all of 2011. [Read the full article] The strong results were due primarily to expanded sales in Brazil and Argentina, and strong U.S. seed orders for spring planting.The world's largest seed company earned 23 cents a share in its Q1, up from just 2 cents for the same quarter last year and beating analyst estimates by 7 cents.The company expects full-year EPS of $3.39-$3.44, a 15%-16% year-over-year rise, but missing analyst views for $3.48.Still, Monsanto said the pace of U.S. seed orders is ahead of where it was the same time last year.Total sales of seeds and productivity products rose 33% to $2.4 bil in the quarter. Corn seed sales rose 46%, while sales of cotton seeds and genetic traits jumped 73%.The strong earnings were released a week after the Agriculture Dept. approved the company's drought-resistant genetically modified corn, clearing the new variety for sale. [Read the full article] 
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