FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: DOUGLAS I. PAYNE
December 12, 2000 Sr. V.P. - Finance and Administration
(540) 627-2157
e-mail:[email protected]
ANITA W. WIMMER
Treasurer
(540) 627-2446
e-mail:[email protected]
STANLEY FURNITURE COMMENTS ON OUTLOOK FOR FOURTH QUARTER AND 2001; BOARD
INCREASES AUTHORIZATION TO REPURCHASE THE COMPANY'S COMMON STOCK
TO $14.6 MILLION
STANLEYTOWN, VA, December 12, 2000/PRNewswire/ -- Stanley Furniture Company,
Inc. (Nasdaq-NNM:STLY) announced today it expects fourth quarter sales to be
5-6% lower than last year, and fourth quarter earnings per share to be $.54 to
$.57, compared to $.74 last year. As a result, full year 2000 sales are
anticipated to be up approximately 7% over last year, and earnings per share is
expected to be $2.56 to $2.59, compared to $2.47 for 1999. Due to the slowdown
in the U.S. economy, the Company expects sales and earnings comparisons to be
flat to slightly below the comparable prior year periods through the first half
of 2001. The Company anticipates a strong rebound in business conditions in the
second half of next year, which should provide 5-7% sales growth for the full
year, and earnings per share of $2.80 to $3.00 for 2001.
The Company also announced today that its Board of Directors has authorized the
use of an additional $10 million to repurchase the Company's common stock. The
total amount now authorized to repurchase the Company's common stock is $14.6
million. The company has purchased 1,201,150 shares of its common stock at an
average price of $21.14 for a total consideration of $25.4 million in just over
two years. These repurchases may be made from time to time in the open market,
in privately negotiated transactions, or otherwise, at prices that the Company
deems appropriate.
"This revision in our fourth quarter and 2001 expectations is due to a softening
business environment," commented Albert L. Prillaman, president and chief
executive officer of Stanley Furniture Company. "We continue to believe that the
long term prospects for the furniture industry are quite healthy based on a
strong U.S. economy and favorable demographic trends. Furthermore, we believe
the Company is well positioned in the marketplace and will continue to
outperform the industry in sales growth."
"We are pleased with the Board's decision to continue our financial strategy of
using a portion of the Company's capital to repurchase our shares. We believe
that investing in Stanley's shares given current market conditions represents an
attractive investment," continued Mr. Prillaman. "Stanley's strong financial
condition and cash flow will allow us to simultaneously take advantage of
opportunities to purchase our stock at attractive prices and continue our
investment in the Company's future growth."
The Company will hold a conference call tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The
dial-in-number is (913) 981-5508. A replay will be available through December
19, 2000. The dial-in-number for the replay is (719) 457-0820 with an access
code of 552106.
Established in 1924, Stanley Furniture Company, Inc. is a leading manufacturer
of wood furniture targeted at the upper-medium price range of the residential
market. Manufacturing facilities are located in Stanleytown and Martinsville,
VA, and Robbinsville, Lexington, and West End, NC. Its common stock is traded on
the Nasdaq stock market under the symbol STLY.
All earnings per share amounts are on a fully diluted basis.
For more information, visit our Website at www.stanleyfurniture.com.
Certain statements made in this release are not based on historical facts, but
are forward-looking statements. These statements can be identified by the use of
forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will,"
"should," or "anticipates" or the negative thereof or other variations thereon
or comparable terminology. These statements reflect the Company's reasonable
judgment with respect to future events and are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in
the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include the
cyclical nature of the furniture industry, fluctuations in the price of lumber
which is the most significant raw material used by the Company, competition in
the furniture industry, capital costs and general economic conditions.
