ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 10, 1996 TAG: 9602120017
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL STAFF WRITER
AFTER A VOLATILE but profitable 1995, the furniture maker is proceeding with care even as it offers such innovations as its NASCAR line.
With one roller-coaster year behind it and the prospect of another on the way, Pulaski Furniture Corp. must be cautious yet innovative, said company President John Wampler.
"With the environment we're going into in 1996, you can't sit back and wait for business to come to you," Wampler told Pulaski shareholders at their annual meeting Friday. "It's too competitive. It won't happen."
The Pulaski-based furniture company, which also has operations in Mebane, N.C., Christiansburg, Martinsville and Dublin, reported record sales in 1995, a year that saw only marginal business increases for the industry as a whole.
But the first quarter of 1996, which ended Jan. 21, was disappointing for the company, with sales down 11 percent and net income down 33 percent from year-earlier levels.
Wampler called 1995 a "roller-coaster ride." While the company posted increases every quarter, consumer demand was erratic and often sluggish, as uncertainty about the economy translated into tight purse strings.
But Pulaski made a successful showing at the October home furnishings market in High Point, N.C., leading the company to expect an upswing for the first quarter of 1996, which began Nov.1.
"We felt pretty confident rolling in," Wampler said. But business slowed substantially around Christmas, again a victim of tight consumer spending.
"When we think about 1996, we're somewhat cautious," he said. Most of the company's manufacturing facilities are operating on reduced schedules, he said.
February sales may set the tone for the next few months. January typically isn't a big promotional month for the furniture industry, Wampler said, but business tends to pick up in February, thanks to Presidents' Day sales. If good weather holds out for the rest of the month, business should improve.
The company continues to focus on its popular lines of curio cabinets and has increased its advertising in collectors' magazines.
"We want to flex our muscles in the markets we dominate," Wampler said.
Pulaski also is introducing a line of NASCAR furniture, to be sold at Heilig-Meyers furniture stores. The 15-item line - which includes black-and-white checkered armchairs and toolbox end tables - will make its official debut in Daytona, Fla., Feb. 18. It then will be displayed in a limited number of Heilig-Meyers stores.
First-quarter 1996 net sales announced at the meeting were $36.6 million, compared with year-earlier $41.3 million. Net income was $914,000, or 32 cents per share, compared with $1.4 million, or 48 cents per share.
For the year ended Oct. 29, the company reported net income of $4.5 million, or $1.56 per share, on sales of $172.8 million, compared with year-earlier net income of $3.2 million, or $1.10 per share, on sales of $148.7 million.
The year-end figures reflect the sale of Pulaski's holdings in Triwood Inc., a venture formed in 1983 with three other companies. The plant in Henry County produces chipcore, a material used in manufacturing furniture. The sale resulted in a one-time gain of $328,000.
The stockholders elected to the board of directors Harry van Beek of Earlysville, president of Klckner Capital Corp. of Gordonsville and a member of the board of directors of the Virginia Center for Innovative Technology. Van Beek replaces retiring director Clifford Cutchins of Norfolk.
LENGTH: Medium: 66 linesby CNB