La-Z-Boy Provides Business Update for Fiscal 2021 Q3

Strong Written Orders Drive Record Backlog;
COVID-19-Related Production Constraints Impact Delivered Sales;
Dividend Rate to be Increased

MONROE, Mich., Jan. 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE: LZB), a global leader in residential furniture, today provided insights regarding business trends for the fiscal 2021 third quarter.

Kurt L. Darrow, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of La-Z-Boy Incorporated, said, “While third-quarter results are not yet finalized, written trends for January remain positive as consumer demand for home furnishings continues unabated.” Business highlights include:

• Wholesale backlog across the enterprise increased by more than 20% in the fiscal 2021 third quarter from the fiscal 2021 second quarter
• Written same-store sales for the La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries network increased 19% fiscal year to date through December versus the prior-year period and continued to trend positively in January
• Written sales for Joybird increased by more than 75% in the fiscal 2021 third quarter versus the prior-year period
  

Darrow continued, “We are optimistic about the business moving forward given ongoing strong demand trends, backlog and the new production capacity being brought on to service orders. However, our ability to increase production capacity has been constrained in the short term due to greater-than-anticipated impacts of COVID-19 across our supply chain as we prioritize the health and safety of employees. While we have encountered near-term supply chain challenges, they will be remedied over time as we continue to focus on working safely across our operations, servicing customers, and delivering strong financial results.”

Compared with a record third quarter in fiscal 2020 and factoring in greater-than-anticipated COVID-19-related impacts experienced in this year’s third quarter, the company expects consolidated sales for the quarter to be down 1% - 2% versus prior-year third quarter, and consolidated non-GAAP operating margin to be at the low end of the 9% - 11% range that was previously projected for the third quarter.

Dividend

In addition, the company announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a planned $0.01 increase in the company’s quarterly dividend rate, from $0.14 per share to $0.15 per share. “Despite the supply chain challenges presented by COVID-19, the Board is confident in increasing the upcoming dividend due to the strength of our business and balance sheet. Our company has performed well during the pandemic and we expect that level of performance to continue,” Darrow said. The higher quarterly dividend would be payable March 15, 2021, to shareholders of record on March 4, 2021, contingent upon formal declaration of the dividend by the Board of Directors as per their usual cadence in February.