Bush in red as 4Q sales off 28%
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, February 18, 2002
JAMESTOWN, N.Y. — Ready-to-assemble furniture major Bush Inds. reported a $5.9 million loss in the fourth quarter, attributing $3 million of that to a non-cash writedown of slow-moving inventory.
Sales of $85 million were down 28% from the comparable quarter a year earlier, mainly because of lower sales to North American office superstores and customer delays of product launches with Bush Technologies, which provides services to manufacturers, the company said.
For the year ended Dec. 29, sales were down 23.4% to $345.8 million and earnings were $257,000, a big drop from $22.8 million in 2000. Earnings for the fourth quarter and year 2000 included a one-time net gain of $2.3 million from the sale of assets.
Paul Bush, chairman and chief executive officer, said the company has been downsizing its operations, paying off debt and taking other steps "to capitalize on the anticipated economic recovery later this year."
For the current quarter, the company said it anticipates sales of $80 million to $85 million and earnings of 3 to 7 cents per share, compared with sales of $104.6 million and EPS of 28 cents in the 2001 first quarter.
President Rob Ayres said operational changes made in the past two years will help going forward. Bush has learned to operate with less inventory, helping to reduce expenses, he said.
"We're running a third of the lot size that we ran in 2000, so our ability to respond on the serviceability side with lower inventory has been greatly enhanced," he said.
The company said its Bush Furniture-North America subsidiary accounted for $67.3 million in sales in the fourth quarter, down 23.6% from a year earlier, and $265.9 million in sales for the year, down 26.5%. Bush Furniture-Europe's sales were $13.4 million in the quarter, down 20%, and $54.9 million in the year, down 5.5%.
| Quarter ended 12/29 | 2001 | 2000 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | $84,950,000 | $118,033,000 | (28.0%) |
| Operating income | (7,238,000) | 14,297,000 | — |
| Net income | (a)(5,926,000) | (b)9,096,000 | — |
| Earnings per share | (0.42) | 0.65 | — |
| Year ended 12/29 | 2001 | 2000 | Change |
| Sales | $345,806,000 | $451,197,000 | (23.4%) |
| Operating income | 10,247,000 | 45,581,000 | (77.5%) |
| Net income | 257,000 | (b)22,777,000 | (98.9%) |
| Earnings per share | 0.02 | 1.60 | (98.8%) |
| (a) Includes a $3 million income tax benefit. (b) Includes a $3.6 million gain on the sale of assets in both periods. | |||
