Bassett Sales Off 5.1% in 1st Quarter

April 4, 2012  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Financial Reports on April 5, 2012

Bassett Furniture Industries reported first-quarter 2012 sales of $61 million, off 5.1 percent from the same period last year.

Bassett attributed the drop to strategic store closings during and subsequent to first-quarter 2011.

Company-owned store delivered sales for the second quarter, which ended Feb. 25, increased 5 percent to $38.8 million.

Operating profit for first quarter 2012 was $0.2 million versus a $7.2 million loss for first quarter last year. Bad debt and notes receivable charges, restructuring and asset impairment charges and lease exit costs were $0.5 million in first quarter 2012 versus $8.5 million in first quarter 2011.

"The Company's underlying performance improved in the first quarter despite our overall decline in sales and three distinct items that adversely affected our financial results," said Robert H. Spilman Jr., president and chief executive officer. "As previously noted, we will experience difficult consolidated top line comparisons year over year until we can make up the volume we lost from closing 13 underperforming stores in 2011. Our remaining network of Bassett Home Furnishings (BHF) corporate stores, however, turned in a strong 5 percent overall sales increase that included a 6.5 percent increase by comparable stores. We believe that continued improvement in our store sales coupled with the execution of several growth initiatives currently underway will allow us to recapture the sales that were lost in last year's store closings and begin to generate sales growth as a result."

Click here for Bassett's entire press release.