Bassett 4Q sales down 1%
By Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, February 4, 2008
Bassett, Va. — Bassett Furniture Inds. said its fourth-quarter sales declined 1% from a year earlier to $76 million and the company recorded a net loss of $4 million.
The loss, which was attributed to soft retail business conditions, would have been wider had it not been for $2.1 million the company received from antidumping duties collected from Chinese bedroom furniture producers. That was up from $1.5 million in the same quarter a year earlier.
The sales decline also would have been wider had it not been for a change in invoicing practices that took effect in July. Excluding the effects of this change, sales were down 6% in the fourth quarter.
"Overall conditions for our industry and our company have been difficult all year and continue to be difficult today," said Rob Spilman, president and CEO.
He described the current sales softness as "the worst industry-wide sales slump in memory."
Spilman said Bassett will continue to focus on improving its Bassett Furniture Direct stores by investing in marketing and tweaking a store design program that was unveiled last year in prototype stores in Charlotte, N.C., and Atlanta.
Total sales for the quarter ended Nov. 24 were $76 million, down from $76.5 million in last year's fourth quarter.
The most recent quarter's net loss, which equals 34 cents per share, compares with net income of $359,000 or 3 cents per share in the same period last year.
| Bassett Furniture Inds. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Owns Bassett Glass, Bassett Motion and Bassett Supply | |||
| Earnings per share are fully diluted, and all figures in parentheses are losses or declines. | |||
| Quarter ended 11/24 | 2007 | 2006 | Change |
| (a) Includes income from the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of $2.15 million in the 2007 quarter and year and $1.55 million in the 2006 quarter and year. Also includes restructuring and asset impairment charges of $5.5 million in the 2007 year and $1.4 million in the 2006 quarter and year. | |||
| Sales | $76,035,000 | $76,502,000 | (0.6%) |
| Operating income | 255,000 | (1,157,000) | — |
| Net income (a) | (3,978,000) | 359,000 | — |
| Earnings per share | (0.34) | 0.03 | — |
| Year ended 11/24 | 2007 | 2006 | Change |
| Sales | $295,384,000 | $328,214,000 | (10.0%) |
| Operating income | (6,824,000) | (656,000) | — |
| Net income (a) | (9,910,000) | 5,429,000 | — |
| Earnings per share | (0.84) | 0.46 | — |
