Fourth quarter sales for La-Z-Boy were down, according to a report filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but the company still managed to make a profit, something CEO Kurt Darrow credited to outsourcing work and closing facilities:
For the fiscal 2007 fourth quarter, sales in the company’s upholstery segment were $303.5 million compared with $341.8 million in the prior year's fourth quarter. For the full year, sales were $1.2 billion compared with $1.3 billion last year. Darrow stated, "On a double-digit sales decline in the fourth quarter, we were able to operate with a 6.0% margin, reflecting our focus on lean manufacturing and global sourcing. For the year, on a 5.7% sales decrease, we maintained our operating margin at 6.6%."
During the quarter, La-Z-Boy finalized the sale of its Sam Moore upholstered chair company to Hooker Furniture for $9.9 million. Additionally, the company announced it would close its Lincolnton, North Carolina and Iuka, Mississippi upholstery manufacturing facilities and consolidate three operations into one at its Taylorsville, North Carolina facility. Darrow stated, "The sale of Sam Moore is part of our strategy to realign our portfolio of companies while the closures of facilities reflect the necessity to right size our company in the current business environment. These moves will allow us to be more competitive going forward."
La-Z-Boy is one of the largest employers in the Neosho/Newton County area.
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