Dixie Group Reports Net Sales Growth of 36% for FY 2021, Increased Earnings

Dalton, GA, March 10, 2022-The Dixie Group reported FY fiscal year 2021 net sales were $341 million, or 36% above the net sales of $251 million in the fiscal year of 2020, as adjusted for the divestiture of the commercial business.

Net income for fiscal year 2021 was $1.6 million, compared to a loss of $9.2 million in fiscal year 2020.

For Q4 2021, the company posted net sales of $89.2 million, an 18% increase compared to net sales of $75.5 million in Q4 2020. The net loss for Q4 2021 was $6.1 million, compared to a loss of $317,000 in Q4 2020. The loss in the fourth quarter of 2021 was heavily impacted by a deferral of income to the LIFO reserve as the result of the inflationary impact on inventory costs.

Commenting on the results, Daniel K. Frierson, chairman and chief executive officer, said, "During 2021, we were impacted by three major events in addition to the challenging industry conditions.

“In mid-April, we were the target of a ransomware attack that at first brought our operations and communications to a halt. Fortunately, we were not totally compromised and over several weeks, we were able to restore order entry, operations and shipping first on a limited basis then to a more normal level. We did, however, lose a significant amount of data and programs which has continued to impact the timeliness of getting administrative things done. This disruption did bring out the best from our associates who worked many long hours to lessen the impact of the ransomware attack on our customers, our associates and the company.

“Second, was the announcement by Invista that the Stainmaster brand was being sold to Lowe's. The actions taken by Invista since this announcement have made it clear to us that they will not continue to be a fiber supplier. They continue to raise prices dramatically which ensures products made from Invista fiber are no longer competitive in the marketplace, and we are in the process of replacing all Invista fiber as quickly as possible. These actions by Invista negatively impacted our margins and profitability in the fourth quarter and will continue to impact us until we complete the conversion to other suppliers in the second quarter.

“The third major event was the announcement that we had entered into an agreement in principle for the sale of our commercial business which represented about 15% of our sales. The sale of this business was completed in the third quarter. The sale did not include any facilities which we retained for expansion of our residential footprint. Our Atmore facility is already converted to a residential facility for yarn processing and carpet manufacturing. In a time of very tight labor supply, we are able to utilize this facility and the associates to service our expanding residential retail business. The Saraland facility will be used to service our Trucor hard surface brand. Our Trucor luxury vinyl and wood programs have continued to grow dramatically in 2021.”