La-Z-Boy Reports Second Quarter Results

November 20, 2024  by Karen Parrish in Business Strategy, Industry   

Fiscal 2025 Second Quarter Highlights:

• Consolidated delivered sales of $521 million
  • Up 2% versus prior year
• Retail segment sales increased 3%
  • Led by independent La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries^® acquisitions, new stores, and record Labor Day sales results
• GAAP and Non-GAAP⁽¹⁾ diluted EPS of $0.71
• Delivered sales and Non-GAAP⁽¹⁾ operating margin ahead of guidance
• Company-owned La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries^® network grew by five stores, with three new stores, two newly acquired independent La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries^® stores, and an additional two-store acquisition signed and expected to close in the third quarter
• Quarterly dividend increased to $0.22, 10% higher than the previous dividend

For the quarter, sales totaled $521 million, growing 2% against the prior year comparable period. Operating margin was 7.4% for the quarter on a GAAP basis and 7.5% on a Non-GAAP⁽¹⁾ basis. Diluted earnings per share totaled $0.71 on a GAAP and Non-GAAP⁽¹⁾ basis. The company returned $70 million to shareholders through the first two quarters, nearly double last year's comparable period.

Written sales trends also remained solid, with second quarter total written sales for the Retail segment (company-owned La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries^®) up 6% versus a year ago and written same-store sales (which exclude the impact of newly opened stores and newly acquired stores) down a modest 1% versus a year ago. Written same-store sales for the entire La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries^® network also decreased 1% versus the year ago period. Trends were strongest during the Labor Day period, with solid results driven by accelerated consumer traffic and superior in-store execution. Furniture and Home Furnishings advance monthly retail sales growth as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau was +1% for our fiscal quarter driven by growth in home furnishings, sundry items for the home that are outside of our primary focus. The industry remains challenged with home-related spending impacted by higher mortgage rates and a lack of housing affordability and availability.

Melinda D. Whittington, president and CEO of La-Z-Boy Incorporated, said, “Our second quarter results demonstrate the continued progress we are making against our strategic pillars and our strong execution throughout the enterprise. We were pleased to deliver a second consecutive quarter of sales growth across our business despite the continued challenging macroeconomic trends. The combination of our iconic brand, strong product portfolio particularly in reclining and motion furniture, and our talented team again produced steady results against persistently weak consumer demand. In our company-owned La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries^®, conversion rates, average ticket, and design sales all improved again year-over-year. We are consistently solving for the unique needs of our consumers and transforming houses into homes with our high quality, comfortable custom furniture solutions.”

Whittington added, “While our Retail segment continues to lead the way, our Wholesale and Joybird businesses similarly made steady progress in the quarter. With our long heritage of made in North America manufacturing, customers continue to gravitate towards our handcrafted, customized product offering. Additionally, our Joybird brand is making meaningful improvements on its path to sustained profitable growth. Our Century Vision strategy continues to deliver, and we have considerable runway ahead as we transform for the next hundred years. What will endure is the comfort, quality, and customization for which our iconic La-Z-Boy brand is known. We view these as our true differentiators, which will uniquely position us to continue to outperform the industry and grow share over the longer term.”

Third Quarter Outlook:
Bob Lucian, CFO of La-Z-Boy Incorporated, said, “Our strong performance in the quarter is another proof point of controlling what we can control and driving positive outcomes in a challenged industry. We outperformed our guidance with strong performance particularly around the Labor Day holiday, impressive execution, and a resolute focus on improving the agility of our operations. Furniture and home furnishings related spending continues to be soft, but we are outperforming the industry in a sustainable manner."

Lucian continued, "Our expectation is for industry sales trends to remain under pressure, though we expect our growth to continue to outpace the industry. Taking those factors into account, we expect fiscal third quarter sales to be in the range of $505-525 million (an increase of 1-5% year-over-year) and Non-GAAP operating margin⁽²⁾ to be in the range of 6-7%.”

Dividend:
On November 19, 2024, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.22 per share on the common stock of the company, a 10% increase over the previous dividend. The dividend will be paid on December 16, 2024, to shareholders of record on December 5, 2024.

Conference Call:
The call will be webcast live, with corresponding slides, and archived on the internet. It will be available at https://lazboy.gcs-web.com/. A telephone replay will be available for a week following the call. This replay will be accessible to callers from the U.S. and Canada at (877) 481-4010 and to international callers at (919) 882-2331. Enter Replay Passcode: 51407. The webcast replay will be available for one year.