Havertys Reports First Quarter 2021 Results

Atlanta, Georgia, April 27, 2021 – HAVERTYS (NYSE: HVT and HVT.A), today reported strong operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021.

First quarter 2021 versus first quarter 2020:

Clarence H. Smith, chairman and CEO, said, “We are pleased to see our teams’ hard work translate to continued sales and earnings growth. The high pace of demand for home furnishings, which started during the second quarter of 2020, has not slowed. Our first quarter written business this year was up 10.8% over the fourth quarter of 2020. We are addressing our staffing needs and engaging with key vendors to navigate the various supply chain challenges to reduce our backlog and update future delivery estimates. We also have worked with vendors on price increases, impacting our retail prices and product mix. Our gross profit margins remain strong despite the product and freight cost increases as customers see the value in the quality products and dedicated customer service we offer.   

“Our operating margins are benefitting from enhanced leveraging of fixed costs and outstanding productivity from our distribution and sales teams. Strategic initiatives expanded or implemented during the height of the pandemic such as chat, buy-online-pickup-in-store, and online shopping tools were successful as we pivoted to new ways to serve our customers. We are committing resources to improve all these customer experiences during 2021. 

“The current high level of demand is likely to be impacted as discretionary consumer spending shifts away from its current concentration on “nesting.”  We do see positive trends in home sales and the current interest rate and economic outlook are encouraging indicators for our business.  

“As we mark the anniversary of the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are pained by the personal and economic devastation it wrought but heartened by the compassion, resiliency, and ingenuity that it generated. The accelerating roll-out of the vaccine is a hopeful sign that a return to our normal patterns of living is just ahead.”  

Key Results

(amounts in millions, except per share amounts)

			Q1 2021			% of Net Sales					Q1 2020			% of Net Sales
Sales		$	236.5							$	179.4
Gross Profit		$	135.0				57.1	%		$	99.6				55.5	%
SG&A
Variable		$	40.7				17.2	%		$	35.3				19.7	%
Fixed		$	69.1				29.2	%		$	62.2				34.7	%
Total SG&A		$	109.8				46.4	%		$	97.5				54.4	%
Diluted earnings per share (“EPS”)		$	1.04							$	0.09

Comparable Store Sales  

Cost of Goods Sold and SG&A Expense  

Conference Call Information

The company invites interested parties to listen to the live audiocast of the conference call on April 28, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. ET at its website, havertys.com under the investor relations section. If you cannot listen live, a replay will be available on the day of the conference call at the website or via telephone at approximately 1:00 p.m. ET through May 8, 2021. The number to access the telephone playback is 1-888-203-1112 (access code: 2632821).

Havertys (NYSE: HVT and HVT.A), established in 1885, is a full-service home furnishings retailer with 121 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.  

 

Safe Harbor  

This press release contains, and the conference call may contain forward-looking statements subject to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and change based on various important factors, many of which are beyond our control.  

 

All statements in the future tense and all statements accompanied by words such as “expect,” “likely,” “outlook,” “forecast,” “preliminary,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “position,” “will,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “on track,” “anticipate,” “to come,” “may,” “possible,” “assume,” and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, our expected ability to operate and protect our team members and customers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the execution and effect of our cost savings initiatives, the use of proceeds from our sale-leaseback transaction, our expectations for selling square footage and capital expenditures for 2021, our liquidity position to continue to operate during these highly uncertain times, and our efforts and initiatives to help us emerge from the pandemic well-positioned. 

  

We caution that our forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and while we believe that our expectations for the future are reasonable in view of currently available information you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements, and they should not be relied upon as a prediction of actual results. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the extent and duration of the disruption to our business operations caused by the health crisis associated with the COVID‑19 pandemic, including the effects on the financial health of our business partners and customers, on supply chains and our suppliers, and on access to capital and liquidity provided by the financial and capital markets; our ability to maintain compliance with debt covenants and amend such credit facilities as necessary; disruptions in our suppliers' operations, including from the impact of COVID-19, including potential problems with inventory availability and the potential result of the volatility or higher cost of product and international freight due to the high demand of products and low supply for an unpredictable period of time; disruptions in our third-party producers’ operations in foreign countries; changes in national and international legislation or government regulations or policies, including changes to import tariffs and the unpredictability of such changes; failure of vendors to meet our quality control standards or to react to changes in legislative or regulatory frameworks; disruptions in our distribution centers; changes in general economic conditions, including unemployment, inflation (including the impact of tariffs); labor shortages and the Company's ability to successfully attract and retain employees in the current labor market; uncertain credit markets and other macroeconomic conditions; competitive product, service and pricing pressures; failure or weakness in our disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting; disruptions caused by a failure or breach of the Company's information systems and information technology infrastructure, as well as other risks and uncertainties discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2020 (all of which risks may be amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic) and from time to time in the Company's subsequent filings with the SEC. 

 

Forward-looking statements describe our expectations only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no duty to update its forward-looking statements except as required by law. You are advised, however, to review any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our subsequent Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, and other reports filed with the SEC.  

Contact: 

Havertys 404-443-2900 

Jenny Hill Parker 

SVP, Finance, and Corporate Secretary 

 

SOURCE:  Havertys