Kewaunee Scientific Corp. saw a 9 percent decrease in sales during the first quarter to $33.8 million, according to a report filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Net earnings for the quarter were $1.1 million, a decrease of 12 percent, or 42 cents per diluted share. The first quarter of 2016, saw net earnings of 1.3 million, with a 48 cents per diluted share.

Sales were down the first quarter due to decreasing demand, as a result of ill timing. The company’s backlog during this time grew $25 million, a 29 percent growth to $111.2 million.

“During the first quarter we continued to close major orders in the marketplace due to our reputation for quality and service as evidenced by the significant increase of our order backlog,” said Chief Executive Officer David Rausch in a statement.

The laboratory product company is continuing to increase its manufacturing capacity to satisfy customer demand, while the gross margins continue to benefit from the execution of its cost and productivity programs.

Founded in 1906, Kewaunee Scientific designs, manufactures and installs laboratory, health care and technical furniture products.

The company serves clients from many disciplines in industry, research center, schools and universities, government agencies and health care.

Kewaunee headquarters are located in Statesville, North Carolina, but it has a manufacturing facility in Bangalore, India, serving the Asian markets. The company also has subsidiaries in Singapore and India.

Its stock price on Thursday was $26, unchanged on the day.