HOUSTON — Bedding retailer Mattress Firm said sales jumped 31.5% to $276 million in the quarter ended April 30 as the company recorded incremental sales growth from scores of new and acquired stores.
Profits also were up sharply, rising 23.3% ahead of last year's first fiscal quarter.
The numbers reflect the company's May 2012 purchase of about 180 Mattress Giant stores, the September purchase of 34 Mattress Xpress stores, and the December acquisition of 27 Mattress Source stores.
In addition, the company opened 46 stores during the most recent quarter. That brought the number of company-owned locations to 1,096 as of April 30.
"As the leading bedding specialty retailer in the country, we continued to achieve strong results in the first quarter ... despite the challenging industry consumer traffic and average unit price trends," said Steve Stagner, president and CEO. "With the opening of 46 new stores during the first quarter, we are well on our way to reaching our goal of opening more than 100 new stores for the third consecutive year."
The most recent quarter's sales gain occurred despite a comparable-store sales decline of 5.2%. Stagner said comparable-store sales turned positive in May with the inclusion of the acquired Mattress Giant stores.
Of the $276 million in sales, the company said $129.8 million, or about 47% of the total, came from sales of specialty mattresses. Conventional innerspring mattresses accounted for $121.6 million, or about 44% of the total. The remainder came from sales of furniture and accessories and delivery revenues.
Net income for the quarter totaled $12 million or 35 cents per share. That compares with $9.74 million or 29 cents per share in last year's first quarter.
The company also re-affirmed sales and earnings guidance for the fiscal year ending Jan. 28, 2014 that was issued in March.
Sales are projected at $1.237 billion to $1.25 billion, while earnings per share are projected at $1.81 to $1.89. The earnings estimate includes a one-time writeoff of 7 cents to 9 cents per share for the implantation of a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.
