La-Z-Boy Reports Loss; Shares Trade Lower (LZB)

La-Z-Boy Inc. LZB reports Q1 EPS of $0.00 versus estimates of $0.00. La-Z-Boy Inc. reports revenues of $263.3 million versus estimates of $263.81 million. The total loss the company reported was $195,000. Kurt L. Darrow, President and Chief Executive Officer of La-Z-Boy, said, "As mentioned in our August 5, 2010 press release, our results for the quarter were impacted by a confluence of factors. These issues, including higher raw material costs, supply chain disruptions, storms which delayed shipping from our Mexico cut-and-sew operation and inefficiencies in Mexico as we transition all custom cut-and-sewn product from our U.S. operations, have abated somewhat and are not anticipated to impact our results throughout the remainder of the year to the extent they did this quarter.” He added, “Historically, with our first quarter seasonally our slowest period of the year, the mix of one-time external factors exacerbated the pressure on sales and earnings for the quarter. We believe this is not representative of La-Z-Boy's performance going forward as we have a lean and efficient operating structure and are moving into what is typically a stronger selling season." In regard to the company’s outlook Darrow stated, "Although we remain concerned about the overall macroeconomic climate, with consumer confidence remaining at low levels and persistent high unemployment rates, we believe we can make progress this year as a result of the changes we have made to our operating structure. Our lean, efficient operations and strong network of branded distribution position us well in the current business environment. Going forward, we will continue to manage costs relative to volume levels and are focused on improving the performance of all three business segments, particularly as cost-savings initiatives, including efficiencies from the Mexico cut-and-sew center, accelerate throughout the year. Our first quarter is historically our lowest level of sales and operating profit and is therefore not indicative of the potential for full-year results." Shares of LZB are lower in the after-hours by 3.46%.