Tuesday Morning 1Q comps suffer, expects loss

DALLAS Tuesday Morning reported net sales for the first quarter 2009 were $165.9 million compared with $173.4 million for the quarter ended Sept.30, 2008, a decrease of 4.3%. Comparable-store sales for the quarter decreased by 5.8%, comprised of a 1.7% decrease in traffic and a 4.1% decrease in average ticket.

Based on the first quarter sales results, the Company currently expects the loss per share for the first quarter to be in the range of 11 cents to 13 cents. The loss per share was 10 cents for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2008.

"Credit and housing woes continued to impact the discretionary spending behavior of our customers," said Kathleen Mason, president and CEO. "The quarter started slowly during the 'cash for clunkers' program, but picked up in September. Our trend in comparable store sales and customer traffic continued to improve. We successfully managed inventory and kept expenses in line with revenues. Our balance sheet improved with low usage and high availability on our line of credit."