Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Stanley Furniture breaks records in 4th quarter
The company also said that Chairman Albert Prillaman will retire from active management in April.
Stanley Furniture Co. announced Monday a record-breaking fourth quarter, increases in year-end sales and earnings and the retirement in April of Chairman Albert Prillaman.
The furniture manufacturer, headquartered in Stanleytown, has about 2,600 employees companywide and about 1,600 in Henry County. The company manufactures wood furniture in the upper-medium price range and also imports furniture.
Fourth-quarter net sales climbed 12.4 percent to $83.3 million and earnings per share increased 23 percent to 86 cents compared with a year earlier. Both are records.
Stanley Furniture's profit for the fourth quarter was $5.7 million, up from $4.4 million a year earlier. For the full year, the company's net income reached $20.8 million, up from $15.2 million in 2003.
Sales for the full year increased from $265 million in 2003 to $306 million in 2004.
The furniture industry saw general improvements in 2004, but Stanley Furniture said it believes much of its improvement in sales can be attributed to grabbing market share from competitors.
The company also said it was able to operate its domestic operations more efficiently while "intelligent outsourcing" let the company "improve the styling and value" of its products.
Stanley said it expects to continue increasing sales and earnings per share in 2005. It projects net sales for 2005 in the range of $321 million to $331 million, which would be an increase of up to 8 percent over 2004.
Also on Monday, Stanley said Prillaman will retire from active management in April as part of a management succession plan that started in 2001.
When Prillaman retires, the company anticipates Jeffrey Scheffer, president and chief executive officer, will be elected chairman of the board. Prillaman will continue as a director.
Stanley Furniture also said its board of directors approved a quarterly dividend of 12 cents per share, up 20 percent. It's payable March 7 to shareholders of record on Feb. 18.
Company shares, which trade on the Nasdaq market as STLY, closed Monday at $50.46, up $1.61.
