Ethan Allen Announces Earnings Release Date for Fiscal 2018 Second Quarter Results and Comments on Business

Ethan Allen Announces Earnings Release Date for Fiscal 2018 Second Quarter Results and Comments on Business

DANBURY, CT-January 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE)- Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. ("Ethan Allen" or "the Company") (NYSE:ETH) will release its financial results for the fiscal 2018 second quarter after the market closes on Wednesday, January 24, 2018. Following the release, the Company will then host an analyst conference call to discuss its business and financial highlights at 5 p.m. EST.

Based on preliminary financial results for the fiscal second quarter ended December 31, 2017, the Company expects to report sales of $198.5 million, an increase of 2.0% to the previous year quarter, gross margin of 54.3%, adjusted operating margin of 8.7% and adjusted diluted earnings per share in the range of $0.51 to $0.52, compared to $0.39 in the previous year quarter.

"Wholesale and retail backlogs increased 56.8% and 7.0% respectively compared to the previous year quarter. Wholesale orders increased 3.4%, and retail written orders decreased 5.8%," explained Farooq Kathwari, President, Chairman and CEO. "Although written orders were impacted by lower traffic and weather-related issues, there was a steady positive momentum during the quarter, with December written orders up from the previous year's levels. Shipments were impacted by several factors including gearing up manufacturing, weather disruption and political challenges in Honduras."

Adjusted diluted earnings per share reflects an effective tax rate of 17% for the fiscal 2018 second quarter compared to 36.5% in the prior year quarter due to the Tax Cut and Jobs Act. The Company preliminarily expects its effective tax rate will be approximately 30% for fiscal 2018 and 24% to 25% for fiscal 2019.

Mr. Kathwari concluded, "We plan to increase our marketing spend starting in our third quarter as major new products are in place, including Uptown collection, which will be introduced this spring," Mr. Kathwari concluded. "While early in the month, the January written order trend is positive. Our manufacturing, sourcing and logistics are in a strong position to service increased sales."

The analyst conference call will be webcast from the "Events and Presentations" page at http://www.ethanallen.com/investors. To access the conference call, dial 844-822-0103 (or 614-999-9166 for international callers), and enter conference ID 50728593. For those unable to listen live, the call will be archived on the company's website for at least 60 days.