Bassett Furniture Announces Fiscal Second Quarter Results

July 1, 2016  by in Financial Reports, Industry   

Fiscal 2016 Second Quarter Highlights

• Consolidated sales were $106.7 million for the second quarter of 2016 compared to $111.6 million for the second quarter of 2015, a decrease of 4.4%.
• Operating income for the quarter was $5.9 million or 5.5% of sales as compared to $6.7 million or 6.0% of sales for the prior year quarter.
• Wholesale sales were $59.9 million for the second quarter of 2016 compared to $66.7 million for the second quarter of 2015, a decrease of 10%. Wholesale operating profit for the quarter was $4.3 million or 7.3% of sales as compared to $4.8 million or 7.2% of sales for the prior year quarter.
• Company-owned store sales were $61.9 million for the second quarter of 2016 compared to $63.9 million for the second quarter of 2015, a decrease of 3.1%. This included a comparable store sales decrease of 3.6%, compared to the prior year quarter, with the twelve Texas stores accounting for over 70% of the decrease. Comparable store operating income was $1.2 million or 2.0% of sales for the current year quarter as compared to $2.3 million or 3.7% of sales for the prior year quarter. Total retail operating income was $0.4 million or 0.6% of sales for the quarter as compared to $2.0 million or 3.1% of sales for the prior year quarter. Comparable store written sales for the quarter decreased 3.9%. However, comparable store written sales for the 12-day Memorial Day promotional period increased 24% as compared to the 2015 promotional period.
• Revenue for Zenith was $23.8 million for the second quarter of 2016 compared to $22.0 million for the second quarter of 2015, an 8.4% increase. Zenith's operating profit for the quarter was $0.7 million or 2.8% of sales as compared to $1.0 million or 4.7% of sales for the prior year quarter.
• Net income for the quarter was $3.4 million or $0.31 per diluted share as compared to $4.5 million or $0.42 per diluted share for the prior year quarter, which included income of $1.1 million related to the Continued Dumping & Subsidy Offset Act ('CDSOA'). Excluding the CDSOA income, net income for the second quarter of 2015 would have been $3.9 million, or $0.36 per diluted share.

'The year over year sales growth that we have generated in 15 of the past 16 quarters stalled for our quarter ended May 28, 2016,' commented Robert H. Spilman, Jr., Chairman and CEO. 'Although we saw decreases in our consolidated, wholesale, and retail sales for the quarter, we remain optimistic about our prospects for the future as we continue to open new stores, remodel older ones, and close the remaining handful of underperformers. Against the backdrop of last year's 31% sales increase, sales fell 4.4%. Operating income declined to $5.9 million compared to the $6.7 million that we produced last year. Much of our efforts in the first half of the year have been pointed toward the large product rollout that we executed in preparation for this year's Memorial Day sales event and we were extremely pleased with the sales that our new products produced, as the net result for the 12-day promotional period produced comparable store written sales that were 24% higher compared to the 2015 promotional period. Amidst the choppy sales environment that has characterized the past few months in our sector, we are encouraged by the performance of our new assortment and will focus on additional enhancements as the remainder of 2016 unfolds.”

“Comparable store delivered sales decreased by 3.6% compared to last year's 17% increase resulting in a $1.6 million decline in retail operating profit,” said Spilman. “Over 70% of our comparable store decline was attributable to our twelve Texas stores where local economies have been impacted by volatility in oil prices. Our Houston market was particularly hard hit with a sales decline in excess of 20%. On the other hand, store sales have been strong since the end of the quarter. We are especially pleased with the strides we have made in staffing our stores and with our recruitment strategies in general. In keeping with our ongoing store portfolio improvement program, three underperforming stores with expiring leases were closed during the period, resulting in losses of $(0.4) million. We also incurred preopening expenses from our new Sterling, Virginia store that opened at the end of the quarter. Looking ahead, we are under construction with a new store in Hunt Valley, Maryland and have three more signed leases for units that are set to open at the end of fiscal 2016 or at the beginning of next year.”