By Chelsey Dulaney
Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. on Thursday said its
first-quarter sales held up better than expected despite a 13% drop
in March after a television segment alleged that some of the
company's laminate-flooring products were unsafe.
In early March, CBS's "60 Minutes" alleged the company's
Chinese-made laminate flooring doesn't meet California's emissions
standards for levels of formaldehyde, a known carcinogen. The
report sent the company's stock tumbling and prompted an
investigation by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Shares, which have recovered 8% this week, remain 57% below
their last closing price before the reported aired.
For the first quarter, Lumber Liquidators said its sales grew
5.6% to $260 million, in line with the company's forecast of $253.6
million to $265.6 million, which came after the 60 Minutes report.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast $256.8 million in
sales.
The hardwood-flooring company said its same-store sales fell
1.8% in the quarter, as the average sale fell 6.2%. The company had
expected same-store sales to be between the range of negative 4.4%
and a gain of 0.5%.
Strong performances in January and February helped to offset
weakness in March, when comparable sales dropped 18%.
The company said laminate sales as a percentage of overall sales
fell to 16.4% in March from 21.2% in February, before the segment
aired.
Lumber Liquidators said it expects its first-quarter gross
margin to fall to a range of 35.5% to 36.5% from 41.1% a year ago,
due in part to lower retail prices in March.
The company also said about 10,000 customers have requested the
in-home air-quality test kits it is offering.
Write to Chelsey Dulaney at Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com
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