Conn’s eyes growth following strong first quarter

Conn’s plans to open 17-20 new stores while closing 10 existing stores during the full fiscal year, following solid first-quarter results that topped Wall Street estimates.

Net income surged 28% to $28.47 million from $22.18 million in the same period a year earlier. Net sales soared 33% to $277.63 million, from $209.45 million. Same-store sales climbed 15.6%. Higher pretax income helped boost net income totals, while the opening of nine new stores and extremely strong growth in furniture and mattress sales helped drive overall sales growth.

“First quarter results met our expectations with solid performance in both the retail and credit operations,” said chairman and CEO Theodore M. Wright. “Same-store sales rose 16% from the prior year with same store sales growth of 3% in the electronics category. This growth continued into May with same store sales increasing 13%. With the expansion of our product offerings and new store openings, furniture and mattress was our leading product category in the quarter. This favorable shift in product mix contributed to retail gross margin of 41.4% for the period.”

Conn’s expects a same-store sales increase of 5%-10% during the full fiscal year.

Source: Retailingtoday