Bassett, VA, June 27, 2006--Bassett Furniture said Tuesday that profit nearly tripled during the second quarter, as higher sales and fewer costs helped boost results.
The company earned $2.9 million, or 24 cents a share, in the latest quarter, up sharply from $1 million, or 9 cents a share, a year ago. The 2005 period included a charge of $1.5 million, or 13 cents per share, related to the acquisition of 8 Dallas-area stores.
Analysts expected slightly higher earnings of 25 cents a share, on average.
Sales moved 5.5 percent higher to $87.7 million from $83 million last year, as higher retail revenue helped offset flat sales in the company's wholesale segment.
Gross margins improved 5.2 percentage points year-over-year, due to an increase in corporate-owned stores and improved product mix.
Robert H. Spilman Jr., president and CEO, said, "Actions taken over the past several years to restructure our wholesale business have resulted in better returns and we expect continued improvement. Now, we must drive improvement in our retail segment's results. Amidst an extremely challenging retail environment, we are squarely focused on selling more furniture in our Bassett Furniture Direct stores. We have developed a financial plan aimed at reducing these retail losses to a breakeven level over the next 12 to 18 months."
Bassett also announced that its board declared a regular quarterly dividend of 20 cents per share, payable on Sept. 1 to shareholders of record on Aug. 16th.
