By Will Feuer
Shares of LL Flooring Holdings, formerly Lumber Liquidators, fell about 19% after the flooring retailer swung to a first-quarter loss and posted a drop in sales.
The stock fell 18.9% to $2.88. Over the past 12 months, the stock is down about 77%.
“As expected, the first quarter was very challenging and our performance reflected the impact the difficult macro backdrop had on discretionary home improvement spending,” Chief Executive Charles Tyson said. Brand awareness and operational challenges are also weighing on results, he said.
“We expect the macro backdrop to remain challenging as elevated inflation and higher interest rates drive a more cautious consumer and pressure higher ticket discretionary purchases,” Mr. Tyson said.
Sales for the first quarter fell 13.7% to $240.7 million, and comparable-store sales fell 15.4%.
LL Flooring also swung to a loss of $10.6 million, or 37 cents a share, compared with a profit of $4.0 million, or 14 cents a share, in the same period last year. On an adjusted basis, the company posted a loss of 31 cents a share.
The company said its quarterly sales were also hurt by the enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which delayed the importation of polyvinyl chloride and affected the delivery of certain vinyl flooring products.
Write to Will Feuer at Will.Feuer@wsj.com
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