Lumber Liquidators Reports Narrower-than-expected Loss, But Same-store Sales Miss

Shares of Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. were indicated sharply higher in premarket trade Tuesday, after the hardwood floor seller reported a narrower-than-expected loss, although same-store sales missed expectations. The loss for the quarter to Dec. 31 was $5.5 million, or 20 cents a share, compared with a loss of $19.8 million, or 73 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus for per-share losses was 30 cents. Revenue rose to $244.9 million from $234.8 million, to beat the FactSet consensus of $242.4 million. Same-store sales rose 2.8%, which included a 3.0% increase in average sales and a 0.2% decline in customers invoiced, compared with the FactSet same-store sales consensus of 5.3% growth. The stock, which was indicated up over 6% ahead of the open, has gained 8.1% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has climbed 23%.