Ethan Allen Posts Preliminary 3Q Loss, Sales Slump

DANBURY, Conn. (AP) — Home furnishings company Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. on Tuesday reported a preliminary loss of between $17 million and $18 million for the third quarter as sales dropped amid the recession.

Ethan Allen's board also halved the company's quarterly cash dividend to 5 cents per share to preserve cash. The new dividend is payable July 24 to shareholders of record as of July 10.

The company, which is due to announce its full results on April 30, said the results amounted to a loss per share of between 59 cents and 63 cents. Excluding restructuring and impairment charges, Ethan Allen said it lost $12.5 million to $13.5 million, or between 43 cents and 47 cents a share, in the three-month period ending in March.

The company said in a news release after the market closed it also took other charges in the quarter amounting to about 26 cents a share. It added it is in the final stages of evaluating potential impairment of goodwill and long-lived assets, although the impact from that was not included in these results.

Sales in the period fell nearly 41 percent, while the company reduced inventories by $13.5 million.