Jennifer sales jump 10.3%; net loss grows
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, April 19, 2004
WOODBURY, N.Y. — Jennifer Convertibles said sales jumped 10.3% in its second quarter ended Feb. 28, but the specialty retailer's net loss increased from last year's quarter.
The company said it was affected by merchandise sold but not delivered to consumers, as well as lower margins on the sales booked.
Jennifer recently began importing much of its product from Asia, and the company said delays in receiving merchandise should be temporary. Sales aren't recorded until goods are delivered, and the chain had $17.2 million in undelivered sales at the end of the quarter.
For the quarter, net sales, including revenue from service contracts, totaled $32.4 million, compared with $29.4 million last year. The net loss came to $1.1 million, compared with a loss of $821,000 a year earlier.
Six-month revenues of $66.4 million were essentially even with last year. The six-month net loss of $2.8 million compares with a $318,000 loss a year earlier.
Comparable-store sales were up 4.5% for the quarter, but declined 6.2% for the six months.
CEO Harvey Greenfield said Jennifer's new product line is being well received by consumers, and said margins should improve now that introductory promotional pricing is being phased out.
"We have begun selling our new product line at normal margins and continue to see strong demand," he said. "We remain confident we will continue to grow sales and return to profitability in the second half."
At the end of the quarter, the company had 200 Jennifer Convertibles and 17 Jennifer Leather stores. Some 140 of the units are company owned, and the remaining 77 are licensed.
| Jennifer Convertibles | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings per share are fully diluted, and all figures in parentheses are loses or declines. | |||
| Quarter ended 2/28 | 2004 | 2003 | Change |
| (a) Includes service contract revenues of $2.1 million in the 2004 quarter, $1.8 million in the 2003 quarter, $4.4 million in the 2004 six months and $4 million in the 2003 six months. (b) Includes income tax benefits of $184,000 in the 2003 quarter and $90,000 in the 2003 six months. | |||
| Revenues (a) | $32,419,000 | $29,394,000 | 10.3% |
| Operating income | (710,000) | (614,000) | — |
| Net income | (1,127,000) | (b)(821,000) | — |
| Earnings per share | (0.20) | (0.14) | — |
| 6 months ended 2/28 | 2004 | 2003 | Change |
| Revenues (a) | $66,434,000 | $66,469,000 | (0.1%) |
| Operating income | (1,943,000) | 366,000 | — |
| Net income | (2,818,000) | (b)(318,000) | — |
| Earnings per share | (0.50) | (0.06) | — |
