Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 9, 1991 TAG: 9102090206
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY BUSINESS WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Bernard C. Wampler, president and chief executive officer, told an annual stockholders meeting in Roanoke that sales for the quarter ended Jan. 20 were down 8 percent to $26.5 million and net income was $844,618, down 24 percent compared with the same period in 1990.
But Wampler said he doesn't expect the situation to remain gloomy "for a long time, but I think it will affect the second quarter."
Wampler reminded stockholders that a year ago he said 1990 was going to be challenging, but that he felt confident.
That confidence "quickly deteriorated," he said. "I don't think I've ever seen the sharp decline that we witnessed in the spring of 1990."
"Consumer confidence came to a screeching halt," he said.
Pulaski ended its 1990 fiscal year on Oct. 28 with earnings down 16 percent.
Wampler said declining retail sales have meant more of the manufacturer's major retailers have credit problems. And many accounts are on a cash-only arrangement.
There are times, Wampler said, that even after the furniture has been made for an order, Pulaski has to decide whether to ship it and risk not getting paid.
"We're taking some risks, but if we didn't, we would have to shut down the plant," he said.
Pulaski Furniture has casegoods plants in Pulaski, Dublin and Martinsville and an upholstery plant in Christiansburg.
The corporation also owns Ridgeway Clock Co. in Ridgeway and Craftique Inc., which makes solid maghogany 18th century pieces in plants in Mebane and Durham, N.C.
Wampler said most of the company's plants are on four-day work weeks, but there have been no factory layoffs. He said the corporate staff has been trimmed by attrition, though, and salaries of officers and executives have been frozen.
Stores will start getting sample pieces this month of the Victorian furniture group, 221 Baker Street.
That's a line of furniture Pulaski Furniture introduced at last October's International Home Furnishings Market.
Also at the meeting, John W. Stanley, chairman of the board of Blue Ridge Transfer, Roanoke; and Hugh V. White Jr., a lawyer with Hunton & Williams in Richmond, were re-elected directors to serve until the 1994 annual meeting.
The company reported a 30-cent earnings, down from 39 cents a share in first quarter 1990.
The fiscal 1990 report, released in December, showed that Pulaski had a net income for the year of $5.2 million against $6.2 million in 1989.
The 1990 sales volume was nearly flat at $132.5 million against $131.8 million in 1989. Earnings per share for the 1990 fiscal year were $1.81 vs. $2.15 in 1989.
by CNB