Conn's Revenue Climbs 13%, Income Rises

Beaumont, Texas — Faced with a challenging fiscal fourth quarter, specialty retailer Conn's nevertheless boosted three-month total revenue by 13 percent, hitting $162.7 million, up from a year-ago $144 million. This revenue increase included $21 million in finance charges and “other” revenue, compared with $15.5 million a year earlier. Comp-store sales for the quarter, ended Jan. 31, edged upward just under 1 percent.

Conn's, a retailer of major appliances, consumer electronics, computers, mattresses and lawn and garden products, reported fourth-quarter net income of $9.2 million, a 12.6 percent rise over the $8.2 million recorded year-on-year.

“We continue to focus on execution at every level of the organization, which is evident from our performance this year,” said Thomas Frank, chairman/CEO. “We are pleased with our sales performance, particularly in our track sales, mattress sales and the strengthening of our position in major appliances. While the fourth quarter was challenging when compared to the prior year's fourth quarter, we met our earnings goals due to superior merchandising, effective promotional efforts and aggressive cost containment.”

Total revenue for the 12 months climbed 13.6 percent to $567.1 million, up from a year-earlier $499.3 million. This increase included $72.9 million in finance charges and “other” revenue, compared with $58.4 million in the same 12 months a year ago. Same-store sales increased 3.6 percent.

Net income for the 12 months jumped 34.6 percent, hitting $30.1 million, compared with $22.4 million in the previous year.

During the fourth quarter, Conn's continued its expansion into the Dallas/Fort Worth market, bringing its store count in the metroplex to eight by the end of last January. The total Conn's store number has reached 50. The retailer, which operates in Texas and Louisiana, expects to have about 56 to 58 locations by the end of January 2006.