Leon's 1Q net income up 28%
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, June 12, 2006
Toronto — Leon's conservative management style and self-financed expansion program continued to produce positive results for the retailer in the first quarter, with net income up 28% from the same period last year to C$9.7 million.
Earnings included a C$1.5 million after-tax gain from the sale of land and a building in London, Ontario.
First-quarter sales were up 5.7% to C$120 million, with same-store sales rising 1%.
Mark Leon, chairman of the publicly held and family-managed chain, said the sales gain stemmed mainly from new stores opened in Hamilton, Ontario, in October and in Vaughan, Ontario, in January.
Sales by Leon's 27 franchise stores were C$34.9 million during the period, up 1.4%. Including company-owned and franchise stores, Leon's sales came to C$155 million, up 4.7% from a year ago.
The company plans to open stores this fall in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and early next year in Newmarket, Ontario. Renovations of stores in Calgary, Alberta; Winnipeg, Manitoba; and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia are ongoing and should be completed this year.
Leon said the company remains cautiously optimistic.
"The first quarter sales improved over last year, which was a continuation of a trend we saw for all four quarters of 2005," he said. "The opening of two stores this year should help our sales going forward. We are continuing to experience a stable retail environment and we feel confident, under these conditions, in our ability to continue to increase sales for the balance of the year."
