La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE: LZB) rose after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter on Tuesday.
The furniture giant, based in Monroe, Mich., reported for the first quarter of fiscal 2019, consolidated sales increased 7.7% to $384.7 million and consolidated operating margin was 6.0% versus 4.6% in the prior-year quarter.
Sales in the company’s Upholstery segment increased 6.9% to $293.4 million and operating margin was 8.1% compared with 8.5% in last year’s first quarter.
Margin declined slightly as recent price increases implemented to mitigate increased raw material costs were not yet fully realized in the quarter. In the Casegoods segment, sales increased 11.3% to $28.4 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2019 and operating margin increased to 10.9% from 10.7% in the prior-year period.
Earnings per diluted share for the fiscal 2019 first quarter were $0.39 versus $0.24 in the prior-year period. The fiscal 2019 first-quarter results were impacted positively by a $0.03 per share benefit for currency changes and $0.05 per share due to the lower tax rate related to Tax Reform when compared with the prior-year quarter.
Said CEO Kurt L. Darrow, "We had an excellent start to fiscal 2019, with strong results across the business. In addition to sales increases in all three operating segments, the La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries® store network delivered its sixth consecutive quarterly increase in written same-store sales, and our company-owned Retail segment posted a strong delivered same-store sales increase for the 139 stores owned in last year’s first quarter."
Shares bolted out of their seats $4.30, or 13%, to an emphatic, new 52-week high of $37.40 Wednesday morning.
