Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. (HVT) Q1 2025 Earnings Call

Investor webinar replay

Replay transcript excerpt

As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Richard Hare, Chief Financial Officer. Thank you, sir. You may begin. Thank you, operator, and good morning. During this conference call, we'll make forward-looking statements which are subject to risk and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those made or implied in such statements, which speak only as the date they are made and which we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include economic and competitive conditions and other uncertainties detailed in the company's reports filed with the SEC. Our President and CEO, Steve Burdett, will provide additional commentary about our business. Good morning. Thank you for joining our 2025 first quarter conference call. While the first quarter has felt more like a roller coaster ride with the ups and downs, we are very satisfied with our results. Our Q1 sales were 181.6 million, which was down 1.3%, with comps down 4.8%. Total written sales were down 2.6%, with comps down 6.3%. Gross margins remained strong for the quarter, coming in at 61.2% compared to 60.3%. Our pre-tax profits for the quarter were 5.3 million, or 2.9% operating margin, compared with $3.2 million for a 1.7% operating margin in Q1 2024. Richard will provide additional details later on this call. Despite the housing market continuing to operate at 30-year lows, fueled by affordability issues, inflated interest rates, and declining consumer confidence, the quarter's written sales began positively. However, by mid-January, our business faced disruptions from several winter storms over the next 30 days, impacting several markets throughout our footprint. The presidential inauguratio...