Apr 07, 2015 7:28 AM
ATLANTA, GEORGIA ,April 7, 2015 - HAVERTYS (NYSE: HVT and HVT.A) today reported sales for the quarter endedMarch 31, 2015 . Sales for the first quarter 2015 increased 5.3% to$191.3 million , versus$181.7 million for the first quarter of 2014. On a comparable store basis, sales rose 3.8%. Comparable store sales do not include locations opened, closed or otherwise non-comparable during the last 12 months. Total written sales for the first quarter of 2015 increased 6.3% and written comparable store sales were up 4.8% over the same quarter last year. +-------------------+-------------------+----------+-------------+ | | Sales in Millions | Total | Comparable | | | (unaudited) | Sales | Store Sales | | +--------+----------+ % Change | % Change | | | 2015 | 2014 | | | +-------------------+--------+----------+----------+-------------+ | First Quarter |$191.3 |$181.7 | 5.3% | 3.8% | +-------------------+--------+----------+----------+-------------+Clarence H. Smith , chairman, president and CEO, said, "Our written business was slightly better than our expectations at the beginning of the first quarter. Higher average tickets drove the sales increase as our design staff were involved in more sales transactions. We are experiencing some imported product availability issues resulting from the West Coast port slowdown which contributed to our written business exceeding our delivered sales for the quarter. Our store inRogers, Arkansas , will open this week and our showroom inWaco, Texas , should open in mid-May. This expansion into two new markets for Havertys and the strengthening of our position in southeastFlorida , with the opening inCoconut Creek in early January and Ft. Lauderdale slated for July, provide growth opportunities in the near and long term." Havertys, established in 1885, is a full-service home furnishings retailer with 120 showrooms in 16 states in the Southern and Midwestern regions providing its customers with a wide selection of quality merchandise in middle to upper-middle price ranges. Additional information is available on the company's website havertys.com. News releases include forward-looking statements, which are subject to risk and uncertainties. Factors that might cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions, the consumer spending environment for large ticket items, competition in the retail furniture industry and other uncertainties detailed from time to time in the company's reports filed with theSEC . Havertys will report first quarter 2015 results for the quarter endingMarch 31, 2015 onMonday, May 4, 2015 after the market closes and will host a conference call the following morning at10:00 a.m. ET to discuss the results. Contact:Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. , 404-443-2900Dennis L. Fink EVP & CFOJenny Hill Parker SVP, finance, secretary and treasurer Source: Havertys This announcement is distributed by GlobeNewswire on behalf of GlobeNewswire clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that: (i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and (ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source:Haverty Furniture Company via GlobeNewswire [HUG#1908947]