Charge Bites Ethan Allen

Ethan Allen's(ETH Quote) first-quarter earnings slid 9% from a year ago due to a facility charge.

The furniture maker earned $17.1 million, or 49 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with earnings of $18.8 million, or 51 cents a share, a year ago. The latest quarter included a charge of 8 cents a share related to the conversion of a factory into a distribution center. It also had additional compensation expense of 2 cents a share for stock-options expensing.

Sales rose 9.1% to $251.3 million, including an 11.8% rise in retail sales to $230.3 million and a 10.6% jump in wholesale sales to $178.4 million. Same-store sales rose 8.8% in the quarter compared with a year ago. ...