Martinsville, VA, January 12, 2006--Hooker Furniture said it quarterly profit fell 38.5 percent, hurt by a restructuring charge and lower sales.
Net earnings for the fourth quarter fell to $3.35 million, or $0.28 per share, from $5.45 million, or $0.46 per share, in the year-ago quarter.
The results included a restructuring charge of $211,000 or $0.01 per share.
Four analysts on average were expecting the company to earn $0.38 per share excluding items.
Sales fell 2.8 percent to $89.4 million from $91.9 million a year earlier. The company blamed changes in the industry, declines in consumer confidence in the early fall, and weak demand for its domestically produced furniture.
The company said it expects sales for the first quarter of 2006 to be 3 percent to 7 percent less than in the year-ago quarter.
It added that a slight improvement in the rate of incoming orders and improved consumer confidence are giving it a "cautiously optimistic" outlook for the remainder of 2006.
