Tuesday Morning Posts 1Q Loss

Dallas Tuesday Morning Corp. announced Tuesday that net sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2009 dropped 14%, from $201.7 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, to $173.4 million. Net loss for the quarter was $4.3 million, compared to net income of $1.2 million for the same period last year.

Comp-store sales for the quarter fell 17.3%.

The company attributed the comp-store decrease to a 14% decrease in traffic and a 3.3% fall in average ticket.

In a statement, Kathleen Mason, president and CEO, said, “Disposable income continues to be pressured by tight credit, food and fuel inflation, declining home values and losses in investment accounts. Consumers are cutting back non-essential purchases.”

The company also said that Tuesday Morning stores were impacted by the effects of two hurricanes, which reduced sales by approximately $4.2 million.

“Despite these pressures, we controlled inventory and expenses to partially offset the decline in demand,” Mason said. “We remain focused on achieving annual profits and maintaining our strong balance sheet.”