by Increase in consolidated sales was driven by acquisitions and new stores in its retail segment along with continued momentum in its core North America La-Z-Boy wholesale business
MONROE, Mich. — La Z Boy reported a 3% increase in sales for its fourth quarter and full fiscal year ended April 26.
Consolidated sales for the quarter totaled $571 million, up 3% from the $554 million the same period last year.
Net income totaled $14.9 million, or 36 cents per share, compared with $39.3 million, or 91 cents per share the same period last year.
Operating income totaled $29.5 million, or 5.2% of sales compared with $50.1 million, or 9.1% of sales last year, a 41% decrease.
Gross profit during the quarter was $251.1 million, or 44% of sales, compared with $240.1 million, or 43.4% of sales last year.
SG&A expenses were $200.9 million, or 35.2% of sales, compared with $190 million, or 34.3% of sales last year.
The company said the increase in consolidated sales was driven by acquisitions and new stores in its retail segment along with continued momentum in its core North America La-Z-Boy wholesale business.
Written sales for its retail segment which includes company owned La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries stores, rose 3% compared with a year earlier, resulting from new and acquired stores. Written same-store sales declined 5% “as continued weakness in industry traffic was partially offset by higher average ticket and design sales.”
It also said delivered sales in its retail segment rose 8% to $247 million, primarily “due to growth from acquired and new stores and positive delivered same-store sales growth.” Its operating income and margin in the segment were $32 million and 13.1% compared with $32 million and 14.1% the same period last year.
In the wholesale segment, it said sales rose 2% to $402 million during the quarter. It said this was driven by growth in its core North America La-Z-Boy wholesale business, “partially offset by the continued impact of a significant customer transition in our international wholesale business.”
Its operating margin in the wholesale segment decreased to 2.5% compared with 8.1% a year earlier.
“Our fourth quarter results reflect the ongoing strengthening of our brand and operations under our Century Vision strategy,” said Melinda D. Whittington, president, chief executive officer and board chair. “We executed well throughout the year with sales growth across all of our segments and four consecutive quarters of top line growth, even as the industry contends with depressed housing fundamentals and growing macro uncertainty. We are controlling what we can control with distinct strategies and initiatives across each of our businesses. In Retail, we continue to grow our direct-to-consumer business, own the entire end-to-end consumer experience, and develop more value-added consumer insights. Through opening net new stores and also acquiring existing independent La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries®, we reached a new milestone in the quarter, growing our company-owned store footprint to over 200 stores, nearly doubling our store count over the last 10 years, and now owning 55% of the total network. In Wholesale, we continue to expand our brand reach with compatible strategic partners to serve more consumers. Additionally, we are successfully driving scale and efficiencies in our supply chain. This is highlighted by our core North America La-Z-Boy wholesale business achieving sales growth and margin expansion for four consecutive quarters during fiscal 2025, and continuing to strengthen as we initiate our multi-year distribution and delivery redesign.”
For the full year, the company reported $2.1 billion in sales, up 3% from $2.05 billion in its prior fiscal year.
Net income totaled $99.6 million, or $2.35 per share, compared with $122.6 million, or $2.83 per share last year.
Its operating income for the year was $135.8 million, for an operating margin of 6.4% compared with operating income of $150.8 million, for a margin of 7.4% last year.
Gross income for the year totaled $926.4 million, or 43.9% of sales, compared with $881.7 million, or 43.1% of sales last year.
SG&A expenses for the year totaled $770 million, or 36.5% of sales, compared with $730.9 million, or 35.7% of sales last year.
Other highlights of the report were as follows:
+ The company said Joybird written sales fell 21% as recent economic and industry trends disproportionately impacted the Joybird online consumer. The segment’s delivered sales decreased 2% to $36 million “as positive growth within existing stores was offset by declines in the online business.” The company said its operating margin was relatively flat compared with the prior year.
+ The company said it ended the quarter with $328 million in cash and no external debt.
+ It generated $187 million in cash from operating activities, up 18% from last year including $62 million in the fourth quarter.
+ It also said it invested $74 million in capital expenditures, primarily related to new stores and remodels in its La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries program.
+ It returned about $113 million to shareholders, including $78 million in share repurchases and $35 million in dividends.
“Even as we expect global economic uncertainty to continue challenging consumers in the near term, we are confident in the strength of our business model to outperform our peers and deliver strong financial performance,” Whittington added. “La-Z-Boy is an iconic brand in a highly fragmented market. We have successfully navigated challenging times throughout our 98-year history by delivering comfort and quality to our consumers. A strong balance sheet combined with an agile supply chain provides us a position of strength in the industry. We will continue to execute our playbook to mitigate an ever changing environment and drive long-term profitable growth and returns for all stakeholders.”
