Mohawk Industries’ first quarter was performing as planned, in line with projections. Then the coronavirus pandemic struck.

“The world changed during the first quarter, and we are now managing through an unprecedented situation,” said chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lorberbaum. “Mohawk entered the year as the world’s leading flooring company with a strong presence in all product categories, manufacturing in 18 countries and sales in more than 170 nations….Until the COVID-19 outbreak, our results for the quarter were in line with our plan, as we benefited from the initiatives we implemented in 2019.”

As the company progressed through the period, government actions to reduce the spread of the virus impacted all of Mohawk’s markets, some shutting down retail and manufacturing operations.

“Across all of our markets, demand has dropped dramatically, with residential remodeling being impacted the most up to this point and DIY products performing best, as some people started projects while staying home,” he added.

For the three-month period, ended March 28, the flooring giant today reported a 9.1% net earnings drop to $110.5 million, or $1.54 per diluted share, from $121.5 million, or $1.67 per diluted share, a year ago.

Net sales fell 6.4% to $2.28 billion versus $2.44 billion.

All of the company’s plants worldwide are in operation except those in Mexico and a small plant in Pennsylvania.

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