Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Stanley Slashes Q1 Loss as Sales Fall 4.2%
April 19,
2017 by Larry Thomas in Economic News, Industry 
Case goods resource Stanley Furniture (NASDAQ: STLY)said first-quarter sales slipped 4.2%, but the company slashed its net loss to $416,000 or 3 cents per share.
The company’s sales were hampered by continuing problems with a factory in Vietnam that has been unable to fill orders. However, the company said those orders are beginning to be filled by other overseas suppliers, and its newer products should begin hitting retail floors late in the second quarter.
Sales for the quarter ended April 1 totaled $11.2 million, down from $11.7 million in the same quarter in 2016. The company noted that sequentially, sales were 14.2% ahead of the fourth quarter of 2016.
The most recent quarter’s loss was down from a loss of $1.49 million or 10 cents per share in last year’s first quarter.
“We are very pleased to see our customers’ confidence demonstrated by increasing order rates despite our inability to properly service long-awaited order backlog for newer, more marketable product introductions developed throughout the previous year,” said Glenn Prillaman, president and CEO. “This speaks to the confidence customers maintain in our brands, the dedication of our sales force and management team, as well as customer expectations regarding the salability of newer products set to begin hitting retail floors late in the second quarter.”
He said he believes the company “will begin to demonstrate slight profitability” in the second quarter, due largely to reduced sales, general and administrative costs that have lowered the company’s break-even point.
“We had a successful spring Pre-Market last month in High Point. We expect this month’s April Market to build off of that customer sentiment, demonstrating the opportunity we have before us to grow revenues over the coming periods,” concluded Prillaman. “As we remedy sourcing issues overseas, we expect an increasing number of revenue growth opportunities to come. Plans to further expand our product assortments are underway, and we look forward to leveraging the efficiencies we have gained in our business into a profitable, cash generative year of growth.”
In recent months, Stanley has been under pressure from major shareholder Hale Partnership to improve results, and the company also has retained Stephens Inc. as financial adviser for a strategic review.