Select Comfort Corp. reported disappointing fourth-quarter results after the market closed Wednesday, but said it has started 2017 with good traffic and sales at its Sleep Number stores, thanks to a pickup in consumer confidence.
“While our fourth-quarter sales and earnings were below our expectations, we begin 2017 well-positioned to accelerate earnings growth, cash generation and returns to shareholder,” Select President and CEO Shelly Ibach said in a statement.
The Plymouth-based company’s revenue was $313.4 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, up 46 percent over the same period a year ago. Net income was $11.3 million, or 25 cents a share, compared with a loss of $21.2 million, or 42 cents per share, in the year-ago period.
But the 2015 results were negatively impacted by the implementation of a new enterprise resource planning software system. In the fourth quarter of 2014, the company made 35 cents a share on revenue of $322 million.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected 2016 fourth-quarter revenue closer to the 2014 number — earnings per share of 32 cents on sales of $315 million.
For the year, the company reported sales of $1.31 billion, up 8 percent over 2015. Earnings per share were $1.10, up from the 97 cents reported in 2015 but 5 cents below the company’s guidance range and 7 cents below what analysts were expecting.
For 2017, the company expects earnings to be between $1.20 and $1.40 per share.
With new products rolling out and rising consumer confidence, officials said revenue should grow in the mid-to-high single-digit range.
The company’s new Sleep Number 360 smart bed — which was an award winner at last month’s CES consumer electronics show — will be in stores during the second quarter. It features the company’s new Responsive Air Technology that responds to sleepers throughout the night. There will be seven models to choose from with features including foot warming and snoring detection and response features.
“All of the investments we have made over the past five years are coming together with the rollout of our revolutionary new Sleep Number 360 smart beds, which will enable both continued market share growth and greater business leverage,” Ibach said.
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