Lumber Liquidators announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2017.
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Net sales in the fourth quarter of 2017 were $260 million, an increase of 6.1% from the fourth quarter of 2016. This includes a comparable store net sales increase of 4.5%, which reflected a 3.4% increase in average sale and a 1.1% increase in customers invoiced.
Non-comparable store net sales increased $4.1 million over the comparable prior-year period. The company opened six new stores during the fourth quarter of 2017.
Gross margin was 35.4% in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared with 32.9% in the prior-year period. This increase was driven by a shift in mix toward vinyl and engineered products, lower transportation costs, as well as improved margins within engineered, vinyl, laminate, and tile categories due to sourcing and pricing initiatives.
Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses in the fourth quarter of 2017 were $92 million compared to $90 million in the prior-year quarter.
The increase was attributable to incremental legal and professional fees and the absence of a credit related to the stock-based element of the company's 2016 settlement of the securities class action lawsuit, partially offset by decreases in payroll and advertising.
Certain items affecting the change in SG&A expenses are also highlighted in the attached supporting schedule. When excluding those items, Adjusted SG&A as a percentage of sales (a non-GAAP measure) decreased to 33.3% from 36.4% during the prior-year period.
Operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2017 was $0.6 million compared to an operating loss of $9.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2016.
The company also recognized a $2.6 million income tax benefit primarily due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act which was enacted on December 22, 2017.
One of the tax law changes enabled the company to recognize certain deferred tax assets previously offset by a valuation allowance. As a result, net income for the fourth quarter of 2017 was $3.0 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $5.5 million, or $(0.20) per diluted share, during the prior-year period.
At December 31, 2017, the company had $145.9 million in liquidity, comprised of $19.9 million of cash and $126 million of availability under its revolving credit facility.
The company had $15 million outstanding on its revolving credit facility at December 31, 2017. This compares to $101 million in liquidity at December 31, 2016, which was comprised of $10.3 million in cash and $90.7 million of availability under the revolving credit facility.
The company had $40.0 million outstanding on its revolving credit facility at December 31, 2016.
Full year results
Net sales increased 7.1% to $1,029 million in 2017 from $961 million in 2016, which includes a comparable store net sales increase of $52 million, or 5.4% and a non-comparable store net sales increase of $16 million.
The company opened eleven new stores in 2017, closed one, and as of December 31, 2017, operated 393 stores in the United States and Canada.
Gross margin increased to 35.9% from 31.6% in 2016. SG&A expenses decreased as a percentage of net sales to 39.5% in 2017, compared to 41.4% in 2016, and when excluding items in the attached supporting schedule, Adjusted SG&A (a non-GAAP measure) decreased to 34.5% from 36.1% in 2016. Operating loss was $37.0 million in 2017 and $93.6 million in 2016.
The $57 million improvement consisted of a 7.1% increase in sales that combined with an expanded gross margin to drive an additional $65 million in Gross Profit including $14 million of favorable unusual items. These items were offset by an $8 million increase in SG&A.
Net loss was $37.8 million, or $1.33 per diluted share, in 2017 compared to a net loss of $68.6 million, or $2.51 per diluted share. While both periods were adversely affected by legal and other matters, the improvement was primarily due to higher sales and margins in the current year. ■