Hooker Furniture Corporation Exceeds Pre-Pandemic Growth Pace With Sales, Profitability Gains and Brisk Demand in First Quarter
Hooker Furniture Corporation (HOFT) reported consolidated net sales of $162.9 million for Q1 fiscal 2022, marking a 56% increase year-over-year. Net income reached $9.4 million, equivalent to $0.78 per diluted share, both record highs for the company’s fiscal first quarter. The Hooker Branded Segment drove this growth with an 89% sales increase. Despite industry-wide challenges like logistics issues and inflation, incoming order rates are more than double historical norms. The company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.18 per share, payable on June 30, 2021.
- Q1 fiscal 2022 net sales increased by $58.3 million, or 56%, year-over-year.
- Record-high net income of $9.4 million, or $0.78 per diluted share.
- Hooker Branded Segment saw a sales surge of 89% compared to the prior year.
- Incoming orders more than doubled historical norms, indicating strong demand.
- Declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.18 per share.
- Supply chain issues and inflation are impacting production levels.
- Home Meridian's profits were subdued due to high freight costs.
MARTINSVILLE, Va., June 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hooker Furniture Corporation (NASDAQ-GS: HOFT) today reported consolidated net sales of
Net income for the first quarter was
“We’re pleased to have surpassed our goal to return to the growth trajectory we were on prior to the global pandemic and economic downturn,” said Jeremy Hoff, chief executive officer.
“While we expected a sizable sales improvement over last year’s first quarter when the pandemic-driven economic downturn began in mid-to-late-March, our results this quarter also represent a strong improvement over the first quarter of fiscal 2020,” Hoff said. “Compared to the first quarter two years ago, sales are up
“I’m especially proud of our team in delivering this strong rebound a year after the onset of the pandemic despite current industry-wide logistics challenges including higher ocean and freight transit costs, raw materials shortages and inflation,” Hoff said.
The Hooker Branded Segment led the way with an
The High Point Spring Market was officially pushed to June to accommodate travel restrictions in place earlier this year. In its place, the Hooker Branded, Home Meridian and Domestic Upholstery segments participated in a Pre-Market event in late April. Results from the Pre-Market were exceptionally strong in terms of traffic, buying activity, and reception to new product introductions. “We enjoyed record attendance at the High Point Premarket, with very positive customer response to a number of introductions including Hooker Casegoods Collections, the new brand launches of the Scott Brothers licensed collections, Commerce & Market, an accent furniture line with pricing, styling and materials to reach Millennials and Gen X, and Hooker Upholstery’s launch of the upscale motion seating Aspire brand,” Hoff said.
Consolidated operating income for the quarter was
Segment Reporting: Hooker Branded
The Hooker Branded Segment led the way in the company’s record sales and earnings for the quarter. Net sales increased by
Because much of the segment’s product line is shipped out of U.S. distribution centers and product is ordered on a consistent weekly basis, shipments exceeded our expectations despite limitations on ocean vessel space and freightliner truck availability. “With our strategy to prioritize best sellers, we maximized our ability to perform against significant operational constraints,” Hoff said. “Due to the industry-wide demand surge for home furnishings, we were able to sell through some slow-moving inventory in the favorable environment. As a result, the Hooker Branded segment remained highly profitable due to increased revenues and reduced discounting and contributed over
Hoff added, “The strengthening of our product line over the past two-plus years including an expanding lifestyle collection focus and a renewed emphasis on our value proposition within our various categories has begun to significantly affect our top and bottom-line performance.”
Segment Reporting: Home Meridian
Home Meridian first quarter sales were
First quarter operating income in the segment was
In general, Home Meridian’s service position improved in the quarter, as in-bound shipments replenished out-of-stock items. However ACH, Home Meridian’s ecommerce division, has struggled to return to an in-stock position after selling out of many best sellers during the early months of the pandemic. Container availability and cargo bookings will continue to constrain service levels for the foreseeable future at Home Meridian.
Incoming orders were up
“During the late April High Point Pre-Market event we had an extremely enthusiastic response to our new Scott Brothers Brands, Scott Living and Drew and Jonathan Home, planned for launch later this year,” Hoff said. “We have numerous major dealers committing to buy the branded introductions as soon as we can ship them. The June High Point Market begins tomorrow, and already we are hearing about consumers inquiring about where they can buy the Scott Brothers furnishings at retail. These dynamics bode well for these brands,” he said.
Segment Reporting: Domestic Upholstery
The Domestic Upholstery Segment net sales increased by
In response to the COVID-19 restrictions and reduced orders that began a year ago last March, the segment temporarily closed manufacturing plants at Bradington-Young and Shenandoah for about a month during the prior year first quarter, and Sam Moore operated at about
“Although we are encouraged by incoming orders for the Domestic Upholstery Segment during the quarter, we started to experience foam allocation shortages and inflation of certain raw materials, such as foam, lumber, plywood, fabric and mechanisms during the second half of the first quarter,” Hoff said. “These supply chain and manufacturing constraints led to reduced production levels, which adversely impacted sales volume and operating efficiencies for much of the quarter. We expect these challenges to continue in the short term.”
Segment Reporting: All Other
All Other net sales decreased by
The senior living industry was hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 crisis and has not yet recovered. However, management believes the ongoing vaccination progress will improve conditions in the senior living industry, as H Contract’s incoming orders increased by
Despite the sales decline, H Contract still contributed operating income for the quarter. Lifestyle Brands, a new business started in fiscal 2019, also reported a profit.
Cash, Debt and Inventory
“Since the end of last fiscal year, we have increased our inventory levels by over
Cash and cash equivalents stood at
Outlook
“Our consolidated orders and backlogs are more than double historical norms as we head into the summer months,” said Hoff. “Given this strong position, we’re cautiously optimistic, considering the industry-wide supply chain, logistics and raw materials shortages and inflation. We believe we have mitigated these dynamics as much as possible through surcharges and price increases, yet these supply-side factors are unpredictable and often involve unexpected changes occurring almost daily.”
“Several macroeconomic factors provide a nice runway for growth such as the ongoing strong housing market and favorable demographics with the massive Millennial generation becoming highly engaged in household formation and home furnishing purchases. On the negative side, we expect increased competition for the consumers’ discretionary income from industries such as travel, apparel and in-person events as the COVID-19 vaccinations continue to roll out,” said Hoff.
“While we expect the extraordinary levels of demand for home furnishings to diminish somewhat, we also expect that demand for home furnishings will settle into a higher level of demand than pre-pandemic. Consumers aren’t going to fall out of love with their homes, and we are positioned to help them enhance their homes with comfortable, stylish and quality home furnishings. We believe our company is strongly positioned to win in this environment,” Hoff concluded.
Dividends
On June 3, 2021, the Company’s board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of
Conference Call Details
Hooker Furniture will present its fiscal 2022 first quarter financial results via teleconference and live internet web cast on Friday morning, June 4, 2021 at 9:00 AM Eastern Time. The dial-in number for domestic callers is 877.665.2466 and the number for international callers is 678.894.3031. The conference ID number is 6963179. The call will be simultaneously web cast and archived for replay on the Company's web site at www.hookerfurniture.com in the Investor Relations section.
Hooker Furniture Corporation, in its 98th year of business, is a designer, marketer and importer of casegoods (wooden and metal furniture), leather furniture and fabric-upholstered furniture for the residential, hospitality and contract markets. The Company also domestically manufactures premium residential custom leather and custom fabric-upholstered furniture. It is ranked among the nation’s largest publicly traded furniture sources, based on 2019 shipments to U.S. retailers, according to a 2020 survey by a leading trade publication. Major casegoods product categories include home entertainment, home office, accent, dining, and bedroom furniture in the upper-medium price points sold under the Hooker Furniture brand. Hooker’s residential upholstered seating product lines include Bradington-Young, a specialist in upscale motion and stationary leather furniture, Sam Moore Furniture, a specialist in upscale occasional chairs, settees, sofas and sectional seating with an emphasis on cover-to-frame customization, Hooker Upholstery, imported upholstered furniture targeted at the upper-medium price-range and Shenandoah Furniture, an upscale upholstered furniture company specializing in private label sectionals, modulars, sofas, chairs, ottomans, benches, beds and dining chairs in the upper-medium price points for lifestyle specialty retailers. The H Contract product line supplies upholstered seating and casegoods to upscale senior living facilities. The Home Meridian division addresses more moderate price points and channels of distribution not currently served by other Hooker Furniture divisions or brands. Home Meridian’s brands include Accentrics Home, home furnishings centered around an eclectic mix of unique pieces and materials that offer a fresh take on home fashion, Pulaski Furniture, casegoods covering the complete design spectrum in a wide range of bedroom, dining room, accent and display cabinets at medium price points, Samuel Lawrence Furniture, value-conscious offerings in bedroom, dining room, home office and youth furnishings, Prime Resources, value-conscious imported leather upholstered furniture, and Samuel Lawrence Hospitality, a designer and supplier of hotel furnishings. Hooker Furniture Corporation’s corporate offices and upholstery manufacturing facilities are located in Virginia and North Carolina, with showrooms in High Point, N.C. and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The company operates eight distribution centers in North Carolina, Virginia, California and Vietnam. Please visit our websites hookerfurniture.com, bradington-young.com, sammoore.com, hcontractfurniture.com, homemeridian.com, pulaskifurniture.com, accentricshome.com and slh-co.com.
Certain statements made in this release, other than those based on historical facts, may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect our reasonable judgment with respect to future events and typically can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “believes,” “expects,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “could” or “anticipates,” or the negative thereof, or other variations thereon, or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Those risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: (1) disruptions involving our vendors or the transportation and handling industries, particularly those affecting imported products from Vietnam and China, including customs issues, labor stoppages, strikes or slowdowns and the availability of shipping containers and cargo ships; (2) the effect and consequences of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic or future pandemics on a wide range of matters including but not limited to U.S. and local economies; our business operations and continuity; the health and productivity of our employees; and the impact on our global supply chain, the retail environment and our customer base; (3) general economic or business conditions, both domestically and internationally, and instability in the financial and credit markets, including their potential impact on our (i) sales and operating costs and access to financing or (ii) customers and suppliers and their ability to obtain financing or generate the cash necessary to conduct their respective businesses; (4) adverse political acts or developments in, or affecting, the international markets from which we import products, including duties or tariffs imposed on those products by foreign governments or the U.S. government, such as the prior U.S. administration’s imposition of a
Table I | ||||||
HOOKER FURNITURE CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES | ||||||
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS | ||||||
(In thousands, except per share data) | ||||||
(Unaudited) | ||||||
Thirteen Weeks Ended | ||||||
May 2, | May 3, | |||||
2021 | 2020 | |||||
Net sales | $ | 162,861 | $ | 104,597 | ||
Cost of sales | 129,279 | 85,944 | ||||
Gross profit | 33,582 | 18,653 | ||||
Selling and administrative expenses | 20,743 | 19,177 | ||||
Goodwill impairment charges | - | 39,568 | ||||
Trade name impairment charges | - | 4,750 | ||||
Intangible asset amortization | 596 | 596 | ||||
Operating income/(loss) | 12,243 | (45,438 | ) | |||
Other income/(expense), net | 4 | (42 | ) | |||
Interest expense, net | 31 | 208 | ||||
Income/(Loss) before income taxes | 12,216 | (45,688 | ) | |||
Income tax expense/(benefit) | 2,773 | (10,869 | ) | |||
Net income/(loss) | $ | 9,443 | $ | (34,819 | ) | |
Earnings/(Loss) per share: | ||||||
Basic | $ | 0.79 | $ | (2.95 | ) | |
Diluted | $ | 0.78 | $ | (2.95 | ) | |
Weighted average shares outstanding: | ||||||
Basic | 11,833 | 11,798 | ||||
Diluted | 11,972 | 11,798 | ||||
Cash dividends declared per share | $ | 0.18 | $ | 0.16 | ||
Table II | |||||||
HOOKER FURNITURE CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES | |||||||
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME/(LOSS) | |||||||
(In thousands) | |||||||
(Unaudited) | |||||||
Thirteen Weeks Ended | |||||||
May 2, | May 3, | ||||||
2021 | 2020 | ||||||
Net Income/(Loss) | $ | 9,443 | $ | (34,819 | ) | ||
Other comprehensive income (loss): | |||||||
Amortization of actuarial loss | 100 | 84 | |||||
Income tax effect on amortization | (24 | ) | (20 | ) | |||
Adjustments to net periodic benefit cost | 76 | 64 | |||||
Total Comprehensive Income/(Loss) | $ | 9,519 | $ | (34,755 | ) | ||
Table III | ||||||||
HOOKER FURNITURE CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES | ||||||||
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS | ||||||||
(In thousands) | ||||||||
As of | May 2, | January 31, | ||||||
2021 | 2021 | |||||||
(Unaudited) | ||||||||
Assets | ||||||||
Current assets | ||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 61,596 | $ | 65,841 | ||||
Trade accounts receivable, net | 91,336 | 83,290 | ||||||
Inventories | 81,475 | 70,159 | ||||||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 6,240 | 4,432 | ||||||
Total current assets | 240,647 | 223,722 | ||||||
Property, plant and equipment, net | 27,853 | 26,780 | ||||||
Cash surrender value of life insurance policies | 25,935 | 25,365 | ||||||
Deferred taxes | 12,400 | 14,173 | ||||||
Operating leases right-of-use assets | 32,800 | 34,613 | ||||||
Intangible assets, net | 25,641 | 26,237 | ||||||
Goodwill | 490 | 490 | ||||||
Other assets | 1,549 | 893 | ||||||
Total non-current assets | 126,668 | 128,551 | ||||||
Total assets | $ | 367,315 | $ | 352,273 | ||||
Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity | ||||||||
Current liabilities | ||||||||
Trade accounts payable | $ | 39,589 | $ | 32,213 | ||||
Accrued salaries, wages and benefits | 6,084 | 7,136 | ||||||
Income tax accrual | 1,536 | 501 | ||||||
Customer deposits | 7,259 | 4,256 | ||||||
Current portion of lease liabilities | 6,381 | 6,650 | ||||||
Other accrued expenses | 2,796 | 3,354 | ||||||
Total current liabilities | 63,645 | 54,110 | ||||||
Deferred compensation | 11,127 | 11,219 | ||||||
Lease liabilities | 27,980 | 29,441 | ||||||
Total long-term liabilities | 39,107 | 40,660 | ||||||
Total liabilities | 102,752 | 94,770 | ||||||
Shareholders’ equity | ||||||||
Common stock, no par value, 20,000 shares authorized, | ||||||||
11,908 and 11,888 shares issued and outstanding on each date | 53,004 | 53,323 | ||||||
Retained earnings | 212,291 | 204,988 | ||||||
Accumulated other comprehensive loss | (732 | ) | (808 | ) | ||||
Total shareholders’ equity | 264,563 | 257,503 | ||||||
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity | $ | 367,315 | $ | 352,273 | ||||
Table IV | |||||||
HOOKER FURNITURE CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES | |||||||
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS | |||||||
(In thousands) | |||||||
(Unaudited) | |||||||
Thirteen Weeks Ended | |||||||
May 2, | May 3, | ||||||
2021 | 2020 | ||||||
Operating Activities: | |||||||
Net income/(loss) | $ | 9,443 | $ | (34,819 | ) | ||
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash | |||||||
provided by operating activities: | |||||||
Goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges | - | 44,318 | |||||
Depreciation and amortization | 1,714 | 1,685 | |||||
Deferred income tax expense | 1,749 | (10,045 | ) | ||||
Non-cash restricted stock and performance awards | (319 | ) | 605 | ||||
Benefit from doubtful accounts and sales allowances | (791 | ) | (328 | ) | |||
Gain on life insurance policies | (439 | ) | (571 | ) | |||
Changes in assets and liabilities | |||||||
Trade accounts receivable | (7,255 | ) | 24,129 | ||||
Inventories | (11,316 | ) | 10,763 | ||||
Income tax recoverable | - | (867 | ) | ||||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets | (2,441 | ) | (1,468 | ) | |||
Trade accounts payable | 7,373 | (12,149 | ) | ||||
Accrued salaries, wages and benefits | (1,053 | ) | (1,661 | ) | |||
Accrued income taxes | 1,035 | - | |||||
Customer deposits | 3,004 | 673 | |||||
Operating lease liabilities | 84 | 367 | |||||
Other accrued expenses | (558 | ) | (1,720 | ) | |||
Deferred compensation | 8 | 12 | |||||
Net cash provided by operating activities | 238 | 18,924 | |||||
Investing Activities: | |||||||
Purchases of property, plant and equipment | (2,188 | ) | (380 | ) | |||
Proceeds received on life insurance policies | - | 673 | |||||
Premiums paid on life insurance policies | (155 | ) | (162 | ) | |||
Net cash (used in)/provided by investing activities | (2,343 | ) | 131 | ||||
Financing Activities: | |||||||
Cash dividends paid | (2,140 | ) | (1,894 | ) | |||
Payments for long-term debt | - | (1,952 | ) | ||||
Cash used in financing activities | (2,140 | ) | (3,846 | ) | |||
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents | (4,245 | ) | 15,209 | ||||
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of year | 65,841 | 36,031 | |||||
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of year | $ | 61,596 | $ | 51,240 | |||
Supplemental schedule of cash flow information: | |||||||
Interest paid, net | $ | - | $ | 240 | |||
Income taxes (refund)/paid, net | (9 | ) | 43 | ||||
Supplemental schedule of noncash investing activities: | |||||||
Increase in property and equipment through accrued purchases | $ | 3 | $ | 51 | |||
Increase/(decrease) in lease liabilities arising from obtaining right-of-use assets | 6 | (3 | ) | ||||
Table V | |||||||||
HOOKER FURNITURE CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES | |||||||||
NET SALES AND OPERATING INCOME/(LOSS) BY SEGMENT | |||||||||
(In thousands) | |||||||||
Unaudited | |||||||||
Thirteen Weeks Ended | |||||||||
May 2, | May 3, | ||||||||
2021 | 2020 | ||||||||
% Net | % Net | ||||||||
Net Sales | Sales | Sales | |||||||
Hooker Branded | $ | 51,339 | 31.5 | % | $ | 27,162 | 26.0 | % | |
Home Meridian | 84,411 | 51.8 | % | 57,665 | 55.1 | % | |||
Domestic Upholstery | 24,492 | 15.1 | % | 16,783 | 16.0 | % | |||
All Other | 2,619 | 1.6 | % | 2,987 | 2.9 | % | |||
Consolidated | $ | 162,861 | 100.0 | % | $ | 104,597 | 100 | % | |
Operating income/(loss) | |||||||||
Hooker Branded | $ | 9,442 | 18.4 | % | $ | 1,333 | 4.9 | % | |
Home Meridian | 866 | 1.0 | % | (30,348 | ) | -52.6 | % | ||
Domestic Upholstery | 1,688 | 6.9 | % | (16,810 | ) | -100.2 | % | ||
All Other | 247 | 9.4 | % | 387 | 13.0 | % | |||
Consolidated | $ | 12,243 | 7.5 | % | $ | (45,438 | ) | -43.4 | % |
For more information, contact:
Jeremy R. Hoff
Chief Executive Officer and Director
Phone: (276) 632-2133, or
Paul A. Huckfeldt, Senior Vice President, Finance & Accounting & Chief Financial Officer
Phone: (276) 666-3949
FAQ
What were Hooker Furniture's net sales for Q1 fiscal 2022?
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