Global upholstery manufacturer La-Z-Boy Incorporated has reported strong second quarter results.
According to its latest Q2 trading update for the period ended 26 October 2024, sales totalled $521m, growing 2% against the prior year comparable period. Operating margin was 7.4% for the quarter on a GAAP basis.
Net income resulted at $29.8m, up from $27.6m. The company returned $70 million to shareholders through the first two quarters, nearly double last year’s comparable period.
Written sales trends remained solid, with second quarter total written sales for the Retail segment (company-owned La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries®) up 6% versus a year ago and written same-store sales (which exclude the impact of newly opened stores and newly acquired stores) down a modest 1% versus a year ago.
Written same-store sales for the entire La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries® network decreased 1% versus the year ago period.
Looking ahead, La-Z-Boy said that it expects sales trends to remain under pressure across the industry, but expects its growth to continue to outpace the industry. “We expect fiscal third quarter sales to be in the range of $505-525 million (an increase of 1-5% year-over-year) and Non-GAAP operating margin to be in the range of 6-7%.”
Melinda D. Whittington, President and Chief Executive Officer of La-Z-Boy Incorporated, said: “Our second quarter results demonstrate the continued progress we are making against our strategic pillars and our strong execution throughout the enterprise. We were pleased to deliver a second consecutive quarter of sales growth across our business despite the continued challenging macroeconomic trends.
“The combination of our iconic brand, strong product portfolio particularly in reclining and motion furniture, and our talented team again produced steady results against persistently weak consumer demand. In our company-owned La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries®, conversion rates, average ticket, and design sales all improved again year-over-year. We are consistently solving for the unique needs of our consumers and transforming houses into homes with our high quality, comfortable custom furniture solutions.
“While our Retail segment continues to lead the way, our Wholesale and Joybird businesses similarly made steady progress in the quarter. With our long heritage of made in North America manufacturing, customers continue to gravitate towards our handcrafted, customized product offering. Additionally, our Joybird brand is making meaningful improvements on its path to sustained profitable growth. Our Century Vision strategy continues to deliver and we have considerable runway ahead as we transform for the next hundred years.
“What will endure is the comfort, quality, and customization for which our iconic La-Z-Boy brand is known. We view these as our true differentiators, which will uniquely position us to continue to outperform the industry and grow share over the longer term.”
