Haverty Furniture Reports Results For August

Furniture World Magazine

Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. (NYSE: HVT and HVT.A) reported sales activity for the month ended August 31, 2001. Haverty's August delivered sales decreased 2.2% to $61.2 million compared with $62.6 million in August 2000. On a comparable-store basis, August delivered sales decreased 7.6%. Comparable-store sales do not include two expanded stores or locations opened, closed or otherwise non-comparable during the last 12 months. Delivered sales for the first eight months of 2001 totaled $434.6 million versus $445.9 million for 2000, representing a decrease of 2.5%. On a comparable-store basis, sales decreased 7.5% for the first eight months. John E. Slater, Jr., President & CEO said, "August sales were ahead of our expectations. Last year's August sales were an all-time monthly record that still stands, so the comparison was a very difficult one. Gross profit margins also continue to be better than planned. "The outlook for September is encouraging with sales activity for Labor Day weekend ahead of the strong results from last year, both in total and for same stores. We now expect that total sales for the month of September will increase modestly over last year and that comp-store sales will show only a low single-digit percent decrease. Based on these anticipated results, we now look for earnings per share for the third quarter to be in the $0.27 to $0.30 range versus the current $0.25 average estimate of equity analysts and last year's actual earnings of $0.35 per share," Slater continued. "Although we believe that the continued strength in home sales and mortgage refinancings are positive factors for future home furnishings sales, we remain cautious about our prospects for the fourth quarter due to uncertainty with other economic variables that influence consumer sentiment," Slater concluded. As previously announced, the Company changed its accounting method for recognizing revenues in 2000 and began recording merchandise sales upon delivery to the customer for the year 2000. Historically, sales had been recognized and "billed" prior to delivery when certain conditions were met. Haverty's is a full-service home furnishings retailer with 106 showrooms in 14 southern and central states providing its customers with a wide selection of quality merchandise in middle- to upper-middle price ranges. Additional information is available on the Company's website at http://www.havertys.com.