No grout about it, the Tile Shop is surging

The Tile Shop paved the way for continued growth in the fourth quarter, with an increase in same store sales and profits.

For the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, the specialty retailer reported a9.8% same store sales increase, a70.4% gross margin increase, and diluted earnings per share of 7 cents.Net sales grew 13.5% to $71.9 million for the fourth quarter compared with $63.3 million for the prior year quarter.

“We are pleased to report another very strong quarter that capped a great year for The Tile Shop,” said Chris Homeister, CEO. “The progress made across all of our key initiatives in 2015 was substantial, and the momentum of that progress continued throughout the fourth quarter. We are particularly pleased with the combination of sales and gross margin levels achieved at the conclusion of 2015. We are eager to build upon the success of 2015 as we work to deliver another year of significant growth in sales, operating margins and earnings per share in 2016.”

Gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2015 was 70.4% compared with 69.5% for the fourth quarter of 2014. The gross margin rate in 2015 was driven primarily by inventory control process improvements and improved margin on customer delivery revenue.

Full year net sales for fiscal 2015 were $293 million compared with $257.2 million for fiscal 2014, representing growth of 13.9%. Same store sales for the full year increased 7.4%.

The company opened three new stores in the fourth quarter of 2015, including the fifth Dallas area store located in The Colony, Texas, a third Cincinnati area store and a second store in San Antonio, Texas. As of Dec. 31 the company operates 114 stores in 31 states.