Tempur-Pedic results beat estimates; shares rise

(Reuters) - Specialty mattress maker Tempur-Pedic International Inc's fourth-quarter results beat Wall Street expectations, sending its shares up 27 percent after the bell.

Shares of the company were up at $45.25 in extended trading, after closing at $38.35 on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.

Tempur-Pedic has struggled to compete with rivals such as Select Comfort Corp and privately held Simmons Bedding Co and Serta Inc, whose aggressive marketing and promotional activities pinched market share from the company.

In response, the company acquired Sealy Corp in September to diversify its portfolio by adding cheaper traditional inner-spring coil beds and help recapture lost market share.

Rival Select Comfort posted fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday that missed Wall Street estimates, hurt by a 21 percent jump in sales and marketing costs.

Shares of Select Comfort fell 19 percent in extended trading, after closing at $28.20 on the Nasdaq on Thursday.

Tempur-Pedic's net income fell to $23.5 million, or 39 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, from $56.3 million, or 84 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company earned 60 cents per share. Net sales fell 7 percent to $341.1 million.

Analysts expected earnings of 55 cents per share, on revenue of $339 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Tempur-Pedic's shares, which touched a year high of $87.43 last April, have shed more than half of their value in the last ten months.

(Reporting by Siddharth Cavale and Juhi Arora in Bangalore; Editing by Supriya Kurane)