Flexsteel Industries reports Q4 EPS 36c vs. 41c last year

Reports Q4 revenue $105.8M vs. $124.5M last year. CEO Jerry Dittmer said: “I am pleased with our fourth quarter financial results. The continued focus on our growth initiatives enabled us to deliver another quarter of solid sequential sales growth as fourth quarter results climbed 6.8% above third quarter sales, which in turn, grew 6.4% over second quarter sales. Despite near-term macroeconomic uncertainty and softening consumer demand within the industry, we are overcoming these headwinds and building strong sales growth momentum which we will carry into fiscal year 2024. As important, we are growing the business profitably. Our operating margins improved sequentially quarter-over-quarter throughout fiscal year 2023, even with increased strategic investments to support long-term growth. While challenging market conditions remain as we start our new fiscal year, I’m confident in our organization’s ability to grow both sales and profits year-over-year given our strong momentum and operational execution. To summarize fiscal year 2023, our team was presented with several hurdles that we had to rise above, most notably a return to pre-pandemic demand levels which was exacerbated by an additional curb in consumer demand due to higher interest rates, rising inflation, and general economic uncertainty. At the same time, the industry experienced pervasive price reductions as many manufacturers and retailers quickly dropped prices in response to lower ocean freight and other cost inputs, forcing others to follow suit. The downward shift in demand early in the year also left many retailers with an oversupply of inventory which subsequently created additional pricing pressures across the industry. Despite the significant decline in year over year sales caused by these challenges, our strong team of dedicated employees identified the obstacles early and executed plans to navigate them while delivering profitable growth, which resulted in higher full year operating income of $10.5 million compared to $6.6 million in the prior year.”