THE WOODLANDS, Texas — A 72.7% jump in furniture and mattress sales helped power retailer Conn's to a total first-quarter revenue gain of 25%, with earnings nearly doubling to $22.2 million.
The company said furniture and mattress sales in the quarter ended April 30 amounted to $49.1 million, up from $28.4 million in the comparable 2012 period. It was the best performing category for Conn's, which also specializes in appliances, consumer electronics and home office products.
Same-store sales were up 16.5% in the quarter, on top of same-store sales growth of 17.8% a year ago. Earnings of $22.2 million or 61 cents per share were up 91.9% from $11.6 million or 35 cents per share a year earlier.
"Over the past six quarters, our operations have delivered year-over-year expansion in both same-store sales and retail margins," Theodore Wright, Conn's chairman and CEO, said in a statement. "With the addition of new stores and update of existing stores, furniture and mattress sales growth is accelerating. Furniture and mattress sales were up over 70% from last year and accounted for 26% of our total product sales in the current period."
He added that same-store sales stayed on the rise in May, up 18% from May 2012.
Conn's also grew its revenues through store openings, with five Conn's HomePlus stores opened in the last fiscal year, and two stores that opened April 26.
As of April 30, 22 of the company's existing stores were updated to the HomePlus format. The company operates 70 stores, including 58 in Texas. Others are in Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona.
The company said that in the latest quarter, furniture unit sales were up 81.6% and the average selling price was down slightly. Mattress unit volume rose 33.6% and the average price was up 19.7%.
Conn's management also bumped up its earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending in January 2014, to $2.50-$2.65 per share. The previous range was $2.40-$2.50.
