La-Z-Boy Posts Profit for Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2010

June 14, 2010  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Financial Reports on June 15, 2010 La-Z-Boy Inc. (NYSE: LZB)  reported net income of $13.7 million for the fourth quarter ended April 24, compared to net income of $5.2 million during the same quarter last year.

Sales for the quarter were $310.7 million, a 9.2 percent increase compared to the prior year's fourth quarter sales of $284.5 million.

Net income for the year ended April 24 was $32.54 million, compared to a loss of $122.7 million in the previous year. Sales for the year were $1.2 billion, a 3.9 percent decline from the previous year.

"Our results for the quarter and full year reflect the success of the many strategic initiatives implemented over the course of the last several years combined with a focus to ensure our cost structure is in line with order flow," said Kurt Darrow, president and chief executive officer of La-Z-Boy. "Our manufacturing operations are governed by lean principles, we are focused on building the La-Z-Boy brand, the core growth engine of the company, and are working to strengthen the performance of our retail segment. Additionally, we have managed our balance sheet aggressively, by reducing our total debt to $48 million while increasing our cash position to $108.4 million, to ensure we have the greatest financial flexibility. While challenges still remain, we believe that today La-Z-Boy Incorporated is well positioned to not only compete in this environment, but to grow profitably."

In the fourth quarter, the company's upholstery division increased 12.2 percent to $241.1 million, compared with $215 million in the prior year's fourth quarter. Sales in the case goods segment for the quarter decreased 4.5 percent to $37.5 million.

For the fourth quarter, retail sales were $39.2 million, up 2.1 percent compared with the prior-year period. The retail group posted an operating loss for the quarter, and its operating margin was down 12 percent. For the year, sales in the retail segment declined 4.5 percent.

"While our results and other public data points indicate the beginning of improved industry conditions, we remain cautious going into fiscal 2011," Darrow said. "Sales growth and cost-savings initiatives will need to be balanced against various macroeconomic factors, including relatively low consumer confidence levels, ongoing high unemployment and volatility within the housing market, as well as headwinds relating to raw material price increases versus last year. Against this backdrop, we will continue to manage our business aggressively. We believe our company is well positioned to compete in this environment and we are focused on improving our operations across all business segments."

The complete release can be found on the La-Z-Boy Web site.

The La-Z-Boy upholstery brands include: Bauhaus, England and La-Z-Boy; and the company's case goods brands are: American Drew, Lea, Hammary and Kincaid.