Hooker Furniture Finalizes Q1 Financial Results

Hooker Furniture Corporation (“Hooker” or the “Company”) reported finalized financial results for its fiscal 2021 first quarter which ended May 3, 2020. The Company reported preliminary results on June 12, 2020 which did not include expected non-cash impairment charges on its intangible assets.

“COVID-19 had a material impact on our financial performance in the fiscal 2021 first quarter and on the market valuations, discount rates and other inputs used in our intangibles valuation analysis,” said Paul B. Toms, Jr. Chairman and CEO. “Consequently, and despite having completed a similar intangible asset valuation during our fiscal 2020 fourth quarter, we determined that another intangible asset valuation was appropriate given our performance and changing market dynamics. Given the effort and complexity involved in this project, we needed additional time to complete this analysis,” he concluded.

As a result of the Company’s intangibles asset valuation analysis, it recorded $44.3 million in non-cash impairment charges to write down goodwill and certain tradenames in its Home Meridian segment and goodwill in the Shenandoah division of its Domestic Upholstery segment. “Our stock price was near a six-year low at the impairment measurement date at the end of the fiscal 2021 first quarter which was near the zenith of the COVID-19 crisis to that point. Our deflated quarter-end market valuation was one of the primary inputs in the valuation analysis and the analysis indicated these assets were impaired and it was appropriate to write them down,” said Paul A. Huckfeldt, CFO. “Unfortunately, we could not consider the 50% rebound in our share price since quarter-end in the valuation, which contributed to the magnitude of the charge,” he concluded.

Tables I – V of this release provide revised condensed consolidated financial statements and selected reportable segment data and reflect final fiscal 2021 first quarter results. Additional information and financial disclosures are provided in the Company’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q expected to be filed with the SEC on July 27, 2020.

Cash, Debt and Inventory

Despite disappointing operating results, the Company generated $18.9 million in cash from operations, received $673,000 life insurance proceeds and finished the quarter with $51.2 million in cash and cash equivalents, an increase of $15.2 million compared to the balance at fiscal 2020 year-end. The Company also paid $2.2 million in principal and interest on its term loans and $1.9 million in cash dividends to its shareholders. To address the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company implemented measures to reduce operating expenses and preserve cash. Additionally, the Company had access to $25.6 million in cash surrender value of Company-owned life insurance policies. “Along with an aggregate $25.7 million available under our existing revolver to fund working capital, we are confident in our financial condition, and believe we have financial resources to weather the continued expected short-to-mid-term impacts of COVID-19,” said Paul Huckfeldt, CFO. The Company has $28.2 million in acquisition-related debt. Consolidated inventories stood at $82.1 million, compared to $92.8 million at the end of last year’s fourth quarter on February 2, 2020. Due in large part to cash conservation and cost reduction measures as well as changes in working capital, cash has increased an additional $31 million to $82 million since the end of the 2021 first quarter as of July 23, 2020.

Outlook

“The COVID-19 crisis drove the most significant downturn in our business in over 50 years,” said Paul B. Toms Jr., chairman and chief executive officer. “However, the disruption has not been as severe as we initially projected. Based on the improvement in orders and retail sales we’ve seen since the end of the fiscal 2021 first quarter, as stores and the economy continue to reopen, we are cautiously optimistic that the worst is behind us and that business will steadily improve through the summer and fall. We believe the Company remains in exceptional financial condition with a strong balance sheet and barring a second nationwide or large-scale lock-down, we expect business to improve each quarter as we go through the year,” he concluded.

After beginning the current fiscal year on an upturn with an 8.3% year-over-year increase in consolidated incoming orders in February, orders plummeted over 70% year-over-year in March and approximately 65% in April, Toms said. He added that cancellations of stock orders by large customers and deferred orders from retailers who closed their stores during the shutdown partially drove the steep declines. Orders declined significantly during the first few weeks of May but then recovered resulting in about a 5% overall reduction for the full month compared to the prior year. Fiscal June and July orders have continued this positive trend. “What we’ve seen in June and thus far in July is that orders are actually at a higher rate than a year ago,” Toms said. “We believe there are several positive factors in play such as pent-up demand, more focus on home environments and less competition for discretionary consumer spending from travel, dining out, sporting events, concerts and other activities.”

In addition, Hooker’s domestic upholstery manufacturing facilities for Bradington-Young, Sam Moore and Shenandoah began ramping up production in early May and “are currently operating near capacity on a consolidated basis, which is a significant increase over the fiscal 2021 first quarter, which will improve efficiencies and cost absorption,” Toms said.

The Company’s ongoing strategy to sell through multiple distribution channels “proved itself during the crisis,” Toms said. While most traditional furniture retailers were closed for two months, “Other channels such as e-commerce, mass merchants and clubs flourished and provided a source of revenues,” Toms concluded.

For the full first quarter results, click here.

About Hooker Furniture Corporation

Hooker Furniture Corporation, in its 97th year of business, is a designer, marketer and importer of casegoods (wooden and metal furniture), leather furniture and fabric-upholstered furniture for the residential, hospitality and contract markets. The Company also domestically manufactures premium residential custom leather and custom fabric-upholstered furniture. It is ranked among the nation’s largest publicly traded furniture sources, based on 2019 shipments to U.S. retailers, according to a 2020 survey by a leading trade publication. Major casegoods product categories include home entertainment, home office, accent, dining, and bedroom furniture in the upper-medium price points sold under the Hooker Furniture brand. Hooker’s residential upholstered seating product lines include Bradington-Young, a specialist in upscale motion and stationary leather furniture, Sam Moore Furniture, a specialist in upscale occasional chairs, settees, sofas and sectional seating with an emphasis on cover-to-frame customization, Hooker Upholstery, imported upholstered furniture targeted at the upper-medium price-range and Shenandoah Furniture, an upscale upholstered furniture company specializing in private label sectionals, modulars, sofas, chairs, ottomans, benches, beds and dining chairs in the upper-medium price points for lifestyle specialty retailers. The H Contract product line supplies upholstered seating and casegoods to upscale senior living facilities. The Home Meridian division addresses more moderate price points and channels of distribution not currently served by other Hooker Furniture divisions or brands. Home Meridian’s brands include Accentrics Home, home furnishings centered around an eclectic mix of unique pieces and materials that offer a fresh take on home fashion, Pulaski Furniture, casegoods covering the complete design spectrum in a wide range of bedroom, dining room, accent and display cabinets at medium price points, Samuel Lawrence Furniture, value-conscious offerings in bedroom, dining room, home office and youth furnishings, Prime Resources, value-conscious imported leather upholstered furniture, Samuel Lawrence Hospitality, a designer and supplier of hotel furnishings and HMidea, a 2019 start-up that provides better-quality, ready-to-assemble furniture to mass marketers and e-commerce customers. Hooker Furniture Corporation’s corporate offices and upholstery manufacturing facilities are located in Virginia and North Carolina, with showrooms in High Point, N.C. and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The company operates eight distribution centers in North Carolina, Virginia, California and Vietnam. Please visit our websites hookerfurniture.com, bradington-young.com, sammoore.com, hcontractfurniture.com, homemeridian.com, pulaskifurniture.com, accentricshome.com and slh-co.com.

Contact:

Paul B. Toms, Jr. – Chairman & CEO – (276) 632-2133

Source: Hooker Furniture Corporation