During the first quarter of the year, Lumber Liquidators (Toano, Va.) saw a 41.9 percent increase in net income to $8.2 million from $5.8 million in the first quarter of last year, according to its latest earnings report released Wednesday.
Net sales at the company increased during the first quarter by 17.8 percent to $188.0 million; during the first quarter of 2011, the company posted net sales of $159.7 million. The company also saw a 7.5 percent increase in sales at stores open at least one year. Lumber Liquidators opened four new locations during the quarter, which garnered $16.4 million in net sales.
Nasdaq.com, which compiles ratings agencies' recommendations, says Lumber Liquidators' stock, which was trading Wednesday morning at about $25.14, is a "buy."
"Our team delivered a solid start to the year, driving the top line through successful marketing combined with conversion of strong customer traffic, increasing gross margin through sourcing and logistics initiatives and expanding operating margin by 120 basis points," Robert Lynch, the company's president and CEO, said. "Our value proposition combining price, selection, quality and availability with the expertise and service provided by our people resonated with customers during the quarter as we continued to build on our momentum from the second half of 2011."
The company also updated its 2012 outlook. It expects the following:
- Net sales for the full year in the range of $720 million to $750 million, up from the previous range of $710 million to $740 million.
- The change in comparable store net sales to range from slightly negative to low single digits positive.
- The opening of a total of 20 to 25 new store locations, including two to four in Canada.
- Full year earnings per diluted share in the range of $1.10 to $1.25, based on a diluted share count of approximately 28.4 million shares, up from the previous range of $1.05 to $1.20 based on a diluted share count of 28.7 million shares.
