Hooker Reports Lower Sales, Profit

June 10, 2008  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on June 2008 Hurt by an industry-wide sales slump, Hooker Furniture, Martinsville, Va., said its first quarter sales declined 8.1 percent to $71 million and net income fell 39.2 percent to $2.6 million.

The company achieved an improvement in gross profit margin of 30 percent—up from 28.6 percent—after reducing sales of heavily discounted items in comparison to the same period a year earlier.

“We’re disappointed that this quarter’s profitability performance is below what we’ve historically and recently achieved at Hooker Furniture,” said Chairman, CEO and President Paul Toms. “These results are driven almost totally by the continuing and significant decline year-over-year in sales in this difficult retail environment. We still believe we have the right business model, and that all the operational initiatives we’re working on are the right ones.”

He said the company is working to stimulate retailer demand and reducing operating costs, without sacrificing service or quality.

He said, “We expect retail conditions to be sluggish for the rest of the year. ... We don’t want to overreact in our cost cutting, because we believe the economic downturn is temporary. We continue to make investments in our business that will pay dividends when demand improves.’’

In releasing its quarterly figures Tuesday, Hooker officials also announced a quarterly cash dividend of 10 cents per share payable on Aug. 29 to shareholders of record on Aug. 15.