LL Flooring sales, profits fall in Q3
LL Flooring, the former Lumber Liquidators, reported that third quarter net sales decreased 4.6% to $282.2 million decreased 4.6% compared to third quarter 2020 sales of $295.8 million.
The Richmond, Va.-based flooring retailer said double-digit growth in pro and services sales partially offset a decrease in DIY sales; and increased 6.9% compared to the third quarter of 2019, driven primarily by strong growth in pro customer and services sales.
Total comparable store sales also decreased 4.5% versus the same period last year, but increased 6.4% on a two-year basis.
Earnings also fell as LL Flooring posted a net income of nearly $9 million for the quarter compared to a net income of $15.5 million in the prior third quarter.
In its sales and earnings release, LL Flooring said, “The Company continues to navigate uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment related to global supply chain disruptions, consumer spending, inflation and a challenging labor market.”
LL Flooring also said it is pleased with the traction it is gaining on its transformation initiatives and the momentum in its pro customer and services sales; however, the company expects challenging DIY customer comparisons to continue in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The company also expects higher material and transportation costs will be a headwind to gross margins in the fourth quarter of 2021 and into 2022.
During the quarter, LL Flooring opened 6 new stores. As of Sept. 30, the retailer operated 422 locations.
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The Bottom Line: Profits tumble more than 40% to $8.8 million at LL Flooring as the flooring trailer faces DIY and supply chain challenges.
What the CEO said: During the third quarter, our associates continued to do an outstanding job exceeding our customers’ needs in the face of an increasingly challenging supply chain and inflationary environment,” said Charles Tyson, president and CEO of LL Flooring. “We were pleased to report strong double-digit growth in sales to Pro customers and installation sales versus the third quarter of last year. As anticipated, our sales to DIY customers were down versus last year, reflecting a shift in consumer spending to other product and service categories, as well as tough comparisons to the nesting spending that we saw in the third quarter of 2020.”
Company info: The full third quarter 2021 report from LL Flooring is available here.