Sales, Profits Slide at Tuesday Morning
By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 4/21/2008
Dallas — Home furnishings closeout retailer Tuesday Morning saw third quarter (ended March 31) net sales drop 5.7% to $178.4 million compared to $189.2 million a year ago, and said it expects to record diluted earnings per share as a loss of 10 cents to 12 cents, compared to a gain of three cents for the year-ago period.
Comp sales for the quarter fell 8.2%, which the company said stemmed from a 6.6% decline in traffic and a 1.6% contraction in average ticket.
"The home furnishings sector has been particularly impacted by the drop in home values and the slowdown in housing starts," said Kathleen Mason, president and ceo, who nonetheless asserted 821-store Tuesday Morning would "weather the down turned sector and economic cycle," stating, "We are confident in the long term profitability of the company."
The retailer projected EPS of $0.38 to $0.45 for the fiscal year ending June 30, with negative mid-single-digit comp sales.
