Furniture Retailers Rise As Fortune Brands Ups Second-Quarter Outlook

NEW YORK (AP) — Furniture company shares rose Thursday, after Furniture Brands International Inc. hiked its second-quarter earnings and revenue outlook, an unusual bit of good news in the otherwise bleak housing sector.


After the market closed on Wednesday, Furniture Brands, which sells the Broyhill, Thomasville and Lane brands, said it expects a second-quarter loss between 3 cents and 7 cents per share, from previous guidance of a loss between 7 cents to 11 cents per share. Both forecasts include 2 cents in one-time charges.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect a loss of 8 cents per share. Analyst estimates typically exclude one-time charges.

The company also said it expects sales to fall by just under 12 percent, compared with a previous estimate of a 15 percent fall.

Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst John A. Baugh said in a note to investors on Thursday that Memorial Day sales apparently were better than expected industrywide, but he also said that that improvement was fleeting.

He kept his “Sell” rating on the stock.

“The company will continue to focus on controlling costs during this downturn,” he said.

Furniture Brands rose 97 cents, or 6.9 percent, to $14.98. Other furniture company shares rose as well. La-Z-Boy Inc. shares gained 53 cents, or 4.7 percent, to $11.82. The stock has traded between $11.15 and $15.60 during the past 52 weeks. Ethan Allan shares rose 42 cents to $35.14.