Haverty Furniture reported a decrease in sales and EPS for the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, impacted by the weak housing market. However, the company's gross profit margin increased, and they are expanding with new store openings and investments in their online presence.
Diluted earnings per share decreased to $0.14 compared to $0.74 in the first quarter of 2023.
Consolidated sales decreased by 18.1% to $184.0 million, with comparable-store sales down 18.5%.
Gross profit margin increased to 60.3% from 59.1%.
The company is on track to open five new stores this year and five in 2025, including entering the Houston, TX market.
Havertys is increasing its expectations for gross profit margins for 2024 to be between 60.0% to 60.5%. Fixed and discretionary expenses within SG&A for the full year of 2024 are expected to be in the $290.0 to $292.0 million range. Variable SG&A expenses for the full year of 2024 are anticipated to be in the 19.9% to 20.2% range. The effective tax rate for 2024 is expected to be 26.5%. Planned capital expenditures for the full year of 2024 are approximately $32.0 million. We expect retail square footage will increase approximately 3.4% in 2024 over 2023.
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