Italian furniture manufacturer Natuzzi has posted lower sales for the first quarter ended March 31. Total net sales decreased 18.3% to €153.8 million from €188.2 million in the comparable period of 2006, whilst the number of seats sold fell 17%. Upholstery net sales declined 18.8% to €136 million, whilst other sales (principally living-room accessories and raw material produced by the group and sold to third parties) decreased 14.4% to €17.8 million.

From a geographical perspective, sales in the Americas slipped 27.3% to €46.4 million, 14.4% in Europe € 79.5 million, and were down 5.6% at €10.1 million in the rest of the world.

Leather-upholstered furniture sales fell 16.3% to €120 million compared with €143.4 million in the first quarter of the prior year and fabric-upholstered furniture sales decreased a significant 33.3% to €16 million.

Commenting on the disappointing results Ernesto Greco, CEO, said, “As previously anticipated, first quarter 2007 turnover performance was affected by the challenging business environment in all the major markets. In the US, the business level was even more depressed, as confirmed by other major players, mainly due to the low consumer confidence and to the sharp decline in the house trade.” He added, “Over the past months we have been experiencing also a price pressure in raw materials, leather in particular, that contributed to the quarterly gross margin decrease.”