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MINNEAPOLIS — Select Comfort reported a 22.6% sales gain in the third quarter, driven largely by a 16% jump in same-store sales.
Earnings for the three months ended were up 16.2% to $23.6 million, while earnings per share climbed 22% to 44 cents from 36 cents in the same period a year earlier.
“Third-quarter results reflect the strength of our consumer-focused innovation strategy and the progress we are making with our growth initiatives,” said Shelly Ibach, president and CEO. “Connectivity through technology, like SleepIQ, is playing an increasingly important role in the consumer lifestyle brand we are building.”
The company said its third-quarter net sales came to $323 million, and benefited from 13% growth in average revenue per unit and 10% growth in units.
Gross profit dollars increased 19% to $199 million, with the gross margin down slightly to 61.4% compared with 63.1% last year. The decline reflected a higher mix of the new FlexFit adjustable base series and higher logistics costs to meet the increased demand, the company said.
Select Comfort said it bought back about 500,000 shares of its stock in the quarter for about $10 million, bringing year-to-date share repurchases to $30 million. It also said it was bumping up its share repurchase authorization to $250 million.
“We intend to increase share repurchase activity by as much as 50% beginning in the fourth quarter,” said Ibach.
For the nine months ended Sept. 27, sales were up 14.4% from a year earlier to $834.5 million, while earnings were down 8.6% to $49 million. Earnings per share came to 90 cents, compared with 96 cents in the 20131 period.
For the full year, the company bumped up its earnings outlook to $1.12 per share, from previous guidance of $1.07. It said it expects to end the year with 463 stores, up 23 from the end of the previous year.
