Housing challenges impact La-Z-Boy's 3Q sales

MONROE, Mich. -- La-Z-Boy reported that sales for the third quarter declined 4.3%, partly due to ongoing challenges related to housing and consumer confidence.Net income for the fiscal 2011 third quarter was 19 cents per share, which includes a 6-cent tax benefit, versus 21 cents per share in last year's third quarter.

The retail segment's sales increased 9.2%, and it experienced its eighth consecutive quarterly improvement of operating margin performance compared with the prior year, the company reported.

Kurt Darrow, president and CEO of La-Z-Boy, said, "We continue to execute effectively against our strategic objectives and achieved improved operating results in both the casegoods and retail business segments. We are also encouraged by the improvement of the La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries store network's same-store sales comparison after last quarter's negative 7.1% performance and this quarter's increase of 4.7%. Although macroeconomic challenges continue to impact our overall business, we are cautiously optimistic the consumer is more confident in returning to the marketplace."