Bassett declares special dividend of $1.25 per share

Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, September 3, 2012

BASSETT, Va. - Directors of Bassett Furniture Inds. have declared a special dividend of $1.25 per share of common stock.
     It will be the second special dividend shareholders have received this year. An earlier special dividend of 50 cents per share was paid on Jan. 3.
     The latest dividend is payable Oct. 26 to stockholders of record on Oct. 12. It is in addition to Bassett's regular quarterly dividend of 5 cents per share, which was paid last week.
     Bassett said the latest special dividend means that shareholders have been paid nearly $2 per share, or approximately $22 million, since the company completed the sale of its stake in High Point's International Home Furnishings Center in May 2011. The company reported a $69.2 million cash gain on the sale.
     In addition to paying the dividends, the company said it has repurchased 887,195 shares of its stock since early 2011.
     "Although growing our top line sales and further improving our operating results remain the best means of enhancing shareholder value, we believe that our present level of liquidity warrants the additional distribution to shareholders that our board of directors has just approved," said Rob Spilman, president and CEO. "We also believe that after this distribution in October, the company has adequate financial means to execute future growth strategies in both its wholesale and retail segments."