HNI Corp.’s net income from continuing operations for the second quarter plummeted 49 percent due to lower demand for products and higher freight costs.

Net income was $13.5 million, or 30 cents per share, for the quarter ended June 28, compared with $26.4 million, or 56 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Net sales were $613.1 million, down 0.8 percent from second-quarter 2007. New acquisitions contributed $36.5 million, or 5.9 percent of sales.

“Demand continued to be weak in our hearth business and in the supplies-driven channel of our office furniture business,” HNI Chairman, President and CEO Stan Askren said in a release. “The lower demand levels along with dramatically higher freight costs pressured our profitability. We responded to these pressures with broad-based cost management and, as a result, were able to exceed our expectation for the quarter.”

HNI incurred $3.6 million of restructuring charges and transition costs related to a facility shutdown, a facility ramp-up, the closure of two distribution centers and the start-up of a new distribution center.

Despite the news, HNI’s stock was up 25.94 percent to $21.85 in early morning trading, as analysts had been expecting a net income of 21 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.