Hooker Makes 3Q Profit, Sales Up from 2nd Quarter

December 8, 2009  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in on December 9, 2009 Hooker Furniture (NASDAQ-GS: HOFT), Martinsville, Va., reported net sales of $52.6 million, a 23.8 percent decrease from the prior-year period, and net income of $957,000 for its fiscal 2010 third quarter ended Nov. 1. Hooker netted $3 million for its fiscal 2009 third quarter.

"With our return to profitability and a 14 percent increase in sales this quarter compared to the second quarter, we are moving in the right direction and beginning to achieve some momentum we can build on," said Paul B. Toms Jr., chairman, chief executive officer and president. "Our single greatest focus for the third quarter was to reverse the decline in sales. Although we weren€™t able to grow sales versus the prior year, we were able to slow the decline. In addition, the upward trend in incoming orders we reported last quarter has continued. In fact, this October we experienced the highest per-week incoming order rate since August 2008. The uptick in orders has been particularly strong at our upholstery divisions during the last 90 days. While encouraged by the improvements, we remain keenly focused on increasing sales, controlling costs and positioning ourselves for improved profitability."

Year to date, net sales for the fiscal year 2010 first nine months declined $54 million, or 26.4 percent to $150.6 million compared with $204.7 million for the fiscal 2009 first nine months. The company reported net income for the 2010 first nine months of $38,000, or less than one cent per share, compared with net income of $7.6 million, or $0.68 per share, in the fiscal 2009 nine-month period.
 
"We believe the worst is behind us, but there is still a headwind in the recovery," Toms said in comments on business outlook. "Unemployment alone is significant. While we are encouraged by strong increases in existing home sales the last two months, new home construction is still sluggish, and consumer confidence is still subdued. Until we see people feeling more secure in their jobs and an improvement in employment, we will continue to see downward pressure on discretionary spending for large ticket items like furniture. We expect a large part of our growth will come from market share gains as we expand our product line and price point range to reach new consumers. We do see retail conditions improving somewhat, and believe that we can build on the progress we have made this quarter."