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Bassett Furniture reports $417,000 profit as sales grow 1.5%

Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, October 6, 2011

BASSETT, Va. — Bassett Furniture Inds. eked out a $417,000 profit for the quarter ended Aug. 27 on a 1.5% increase in sales.

The quarterly profit, which equals 4 cents per share, reversed a net loss of $2.37 million or 21 cents per share that was recorded in the same quarter last year.

Sales for the period, the third quarter of Bassett's fiscal year, totaled $59.4 million. That's up from $58.5 million in last year's third quarter.

The sales increase was driven by its company-owned Bassett Home Furnishings retail stores, which had a 4.3% same-store sales increase and a 12% overall sales increase.

Wholesale sales fell 4.3%, which the company said was due to the downsizing of the retail store network. Since the beginning of its fiscal year, seven company-owned stores and five stores owned by licensees have been closed.

As of Aug. 27, there were 46 company-owned and 43 licensee-owned stores, with one additional licensee store slated to close before the end of the year.

"Corporate retail losses have decreased by 40% for the quarter and for the first nine months of 2011," said Rob Spilman, president and CEO. "Despite the seven corporate store closings and the addition of six former licensee stores into our corporate network, our retail division has been able to raise gross margins and reduce SG&A expenses."

He said the company has acquired three more licensee stores since the end of the quarter, but said he doesn't envision additional stores being added to the corporate stable in the near future.

"We are now at a point where our remaining licensees are generally solid and we can fully concentrate on running our corporate stores, enhancing our consumer's store experience, and further improving financial results," Spilman said.

He said sales to independent furniture retailers outside the geographic area of its retail stores rose 9.2% in the quarter, and said he believes sales to that segment are poised for continued growth.

For the nine months ended Aug. 27, sales rose 12.2% to $189.9 million.

Nine-month net income totaled $54.7 million, a figure that included an $85.5 million gain ($69.2 million in cash) from the sale of its stake in the International Home Furnishings Center, High Point's largest showroom building.

In the first nine months of the previous fiscal year, the company had a net loss of $3.94 million, or 34 cents per share.

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