— Furniture Today,
BASSETT, Va. — Full-line manufacturer and importer Bassett Furniture Inds. said sales rose 5.5% in its second quarter as net income nearly tripled.


The company said the gains came in spite of a soft retail business environment and continued operating losses at 25 company-owned Bassett Furniture Direct stores.

Net sales for the quarter ended May 27 totaled $87.7 million, compared with $83.1 million in last year’s second quarter.

The company said wholesale shipments were $75.4 million, essentially even with the same period last year, while retail sales were up 48.6% to $20.9 million as Bassett acquired several additional stores in late 2012.

Net income in the latest quarter totaled $2.9 million, or 24 cents per share. That compared with $1.1 million, or 9 cents per share, a year earlier. Last year’s second quarter included an after-tax charge of $1.5 million, or 13 cents per share, related to the purchase of eight BFD stores in the Dallas area.

In the first six months, net sales rose 6.3% to $174.1 million. Net income rose more than 50% to $5.2 million, or 44 cents per share.

Company-owned BFD stores recorded an operating loss of $2.6 million in the second quarter, but Bassett President and CEO Robert Spilman Jr. said the stores should be operating on a break-even basis during the next 12 to 18 months.

He said the company is closing two corporate stores — one in Texas and one in Georgia — that currently are running clearance sales.

At the end of the quarter, there were a total of 136 BFD stores. One new corporate store and five new stores owned by licensees are slated to open this year.

“Amidst an extremely challenging retail environment, we are squarely focused on selling more furniture in our Bassett Furniture Direct stores,” said Spilman.

About two-thirds of Bassett’s wholesale shipments in the second quarter were to BFD stores, he said.