TOANO, VA -- Lumber Liquidators, Inc., the largest specialty retailer of hardwood flooring in the U.S., said it more than doubled its net income during the second quarter to $5.9 million, on net sales of $128 million -- a sales increase of 21.1%.
Jeffrey W. Griffiths, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We generated net income in the second quarter that was the best in our Company's history. We are very pleased to have achieved strong top- and bottom-line growth for the quarter and to have extended our positive momentum through the first half of 2008. We continued to experience increasing customer demand for our products and high acceptance for our appealing value proposition. In addition, improvements we have made in our merchandise assortment, in-stock positions and inventory allocation are reflected in our results. Overall, our performance to date this year reflects the increased discipline we have brought to our business as well as our entire team's ability to execute our business plan. Importantly, we are continuing to benefit from our recent operational improvements, which provide us with a solid foundation for long-term growth."
The company also increased its outlook for all of 2008. It now expects net sales to range from $480 million to $490 million compared to its previously expected range of $475 million to $490 million. However the company did scale back the number of stores it expects to open from, now expected to be from 33 to 38 stores.
Mr. Griffiths concluded, "We are encouraged by our strong performance in the first six months of 2008, especially given the challenging environment, and we are optimistic about our prospects for the second half of the year. Our new stores continue to perform ahead of our expectations and remain a significant contributor to our results. In addition, our stronger infrastructure is enabling us to create additional efficiencies while positioning our business for long-term effectiveness. We remain confident in our ability to execute our growth strategy focused on extending our footprint, growing sales and driving sustained operating margin expansion."
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