Bassett Reports Fiscal Third Quarter Results, Updates Progress on Restructuring Plan and Announces Regular Quarterly Dividend

Bassett Furniture Industries, Inc. reported its results of operations for its third quarter ended August 31, 2024. In addition, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share of common stock, payable on Nov. 29, 2024, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Nov. 15, 2024. This dividend represents an 11% increase over the prior year’s quarterly dividend.
 

Q3 Consolidated Business Highlights:

[FY 24 vs. FY 23, unless otherwise specified]

• Revenues decreased 13%, impacted by a cyber incident that suspended all financial systems and manufacturing for 7 days.
• Operating loss of $6.4 million, which included a $1.2 million loss on a logistical services contract the Company abandoned and various costs associated with the cyber incident.
• Gross margin of 53.0%, which included $0.6 million of manufacturing wages paid during the cyber shutdown. Excluding the wage charge, gross profit margin would have been 53.8% as compared to adjusted gross margin of 52.7% in 2023 (see Table 5).
• Diluted loss per share of $0.52 vs. a loss of $0.30 in 2023.
• Limited cash flow deficit for the quarter to $0.4 million despite challenging results and cyber disruption related costs.

“The third quarter is historically our slowest as we customarily shut down manufacturing for the week of July 4^th,” said Robert H. Spilman, Jr., Bassett Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Although we had additional challenges this year, we delivered strong gross margins. In mid-July, we reported that we detected unauthorized activities in our IT systems, which resulted in us shutting down our IT systems and ceasing manufacturing for 7 days. The industry remained challenged by economic factors in the quarter, including a slow housing market that is forecasted to improve heading into 2025. With our strong balance sheet and our focus on right-sizing our expense structure, our goal is to drive better profitability.”

Update on Restructuring Plan

The Company made progress on the restructuring plan announced in July to lower its cost structure and to strengthen operations for topline growth. The comprehensive strategy builds on the strength of Bassett’s brand quality, design expertise and service, and focuses on driving revenue growth and profitability long-term. The five-point plan will be completed by the end of the fourth quarter. “We are running a leaner operation, reducing expenses and investing in new products and services,” Spilman added. “Through our restructuring plan, we are on target to improve our bottom-line between $5.5 million and $6.5 million on an annual basis. We are committed to returning to profitability.”

For full results click here.

About Bassett Furniture Industries, Inc.

Bassett Furniture Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:BSET), is a leading manufacturer and marketer of high quality home furnishings. With 92 company- and licensee-owned stores at the time of this release, Bassett has leveraged its strong brand name in furniture into a network of corporate and licensed stores that focus on providing consumers with a friendly environment for buying furniture and accessories. Bassett’s retail strategy includes stylish, custom-built furniture that features the latest on-trend furniture styles, free in-home design visits, and coordinated decorating accessories. Bassett also has a traditional wholesale business with more than 700 accounts on the open market, across the United States and internationally and a logistics business specializing in home furnishings. For more information, visit the Company’s website at bassettfurniture.com. (BSET-E)

Contact:

J. Michael Daniel – Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer – mdaniel@bassettfurniture.com – (276) 629-6614

Source: Bassett Furniture Industries, Incorporated