Financial News Release

11/17/09

La-Z-Boy Reports Second-Quarter Profit

MONROE, Mich., Nov. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE: LZB) today reported its operating results for the fiscal second quarter ended October 24, 2009.

Fiscal 2010 second-quarter highlights:

    --  Net income was $0.11 per share, including a $0.01 per-share
        restructuring charge, versus a loss in last year's second quarter of
        $1.05 per share, which included a $0.04 per-share restructuring charge;
    --  Sales for the second quarter declined 9.4%, reflecting ongoing difficult
        macroeconomic conditions;
    --  The upholstery segment posted a 10.9% operating margin on a 6% decline
        in sales;
    --  The retail segment's performance continued to improve, with the
        operating loss reduced by 49%, or $5.1 million, on a 3.7% sales decline;

    --  The company generated $22.2 million in cash from operating activities
        and increased cash on its balance sheet to $59.0 million.

Net sales for the second quarter were $300.7 million, down 9.4% compared with the prior year's second quarter. The company reported net income attributable to La-Z-Boy Incorporated of $5.9 million, or $0.11 per share, compared with a loss of $53.7 million, or a loss of $1.05 per share in the fiscal 2009 second quarter. The 2010 second-quarter results include a $0.01 per share restructuring charge, primarily related to the consolidation of the company's casegoods facilities and the previously announced store closures within the company's retail segment. La-Z-Boy Incorporated's fiscal 2009 second-quarter results included a non-cash $0.74 per-share charge for a valuation allowance against the company's deferred tax assets and a $0.04 per-share restructuring charge, primarily related to the closure of the company's Tremonton, Utah and United Kingdom operations.

Kurt L. Darrow, President and Chief Executive Officer of La-Z-Boy, said, "In what continues to be a difficult macroeconomic environment, La-Z-Boy has reported three consecutive quarters of profitability. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of strategic initiatives implemented over the past several years, which have improved the efficiencies of our operations, coupled with the decisive changes made to our cost structure last fall when volumes dropped precipitously. Today, La-Z-Boy Incorporated is operating from a more competitive platform and, over the next 12 to 18 months, our operations will be further strengthened by previously announced projects under way. Additionally, we are encouraged that despite lower volumes, our retail segment continues to make progress and has significantly reduced year-over-year losses for each of the last four quarters."

Darrow continued, "We also strengthened our balance sheet this quarter. During the period, we generated $22.2 million in cash from operating activities and increased our cash position by over $20 million to $59.0 million. Our cash position is $10 million higher than our total debt outstanding. At the same time during the quarter, the availability on our revolving line of credit increased to $87 million from $70.5 million at the end of the fiscal 2010 first quarter. Given the prevailing cautious consumer sentiment existing in today's macroeconomic environment, our entire team is working to drive sales and grow the top line of our company. With the strength of our brand and balance sheet, a network of branded outlets that numbers almost 800 between La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries® stores and ComfortStudios®, and a domestic manufacturing footprint that gives us a speed-to-market advantage for delivering custom-ordered furniture, we believe La-Z-Boy is well positioned to emerge from this period as a stronger player in what will be a very different industry landscape."

Wholesale Segments

For the fiscal 2010 second quarter, sales in the company's upholstery segment decreased 6.1% to $232.8 million compared with $247.9 million in the prior year's second quarter. On the $15.1 million decline in sales, the segment's operating margin increased to 10.9% from 3.4% in the prior year's quarter. In the casegoods segment, sales for the fiscal second quarter were $37.3 million, down 23.0% from $48.5 million in the fiscal 2009 second quarter. The segment operated at a break-even level versus a 1.6% operating margin in last year's second quarter.

Darrow commented, "Despite a 6% sales decline versus a year ago, our upholstery group posted a 10.9% operating margin, which was three times our run rate compared with last year's second quarter. This is a testament to the significant changes made to our cost structure across all upholstery operations. The majority of the contribution stems from the La-Z-Boy branded facilities which continue to generate efficiencies through cellular production. Going forward, as we complete the transition of our cutting-and-sewing operations from our domestic La-Z-Boy branded facilities to our new facility in Mexico, we expect to further improve the efficiencies of our upholstery operation. With over 840 people working at the facility in Mexico, the transition is going smoothly. As we initially stated, once fully operational, we expect our move to Mexico will save us $20 million on an annual basis. We will begin to realize some of these savings in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010 with the remainder flowing through to our results over the first nine months of fiscal 2011."

System-wide, for the second quarter of fiscal 2010, including company-owned and independent-licensed stores, same-store written sales, which the company tracks as an indicator of retail activity, were down 0.6%. Total written sales, which include new and closed stores, were down 7.5%. At the end of the second quarter, 311 stand-alone stores comprised the La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries® system.

Darrow said, "In the casegoods segment, we completed the consolidation of the production transfer to our Hudson, NC facility after closing our North Wilkesboro, NC plant last quarter. The transition to Hudson went smoothly and without service delays to our customers. The North Wilkesboro facility will be converted to a finished-goods warehouse when we vacate a leased warehouse operation in Statesville, NC in the first half of calendar 2010. These changes, once fully completed, are expected to result in annual cost savings of approximately $5 to $6 million, based on current volume. We expect to realize over one third of the annual savings in the second half of this fiscal year. The operating margin in the casegoods segment was negatively impacted during the quarter by the significant reduction of volume in the segment. As we have said in the past, higher ticket categories, including bedroom and dining room, tend to be more challenged at retail in an environment where consumers are delaying significant discretionary purchases.

"In our youth business, we had a very successful introduction at the October High Point Furniture Market of a new line of furniture licensed with Nickelodeon. It was very well received by dealers and, based on feedback and written orders, we believe the line has great potential."

Retail

For the quarter, retail sales were $38.0 million, down 3.7% compared with the prior-year period. The retail group posted an operating loss of $5.3 million for the quarter, and its operating margin was (13.9%). Darrow stated, "Our retail group continues to make changes throughout its business which enabled it to decrease its operating loss by $5.1 million in the face of a sales decline. While we are pleased with the progress made over the course of the past year, our team is focused on driving traffic into the stores, building stronger relationships with the customer through various follow-up programs, improving its close ratio and increasing the average ticket to increase volume levels, which has been our biggest challenge over the past year."

Balance Sheet

La-Z-Boy's debt-to-capitalization ratio was 13.2% compared with 23.4% a year ago and 13.5% at the end of the fiscal 2010 first quarter. During the quarter, the company generated $22.2 million of cash from operations, including a $13 million tax refund, increased its cash position and maintained a very low debt level. The availability under La-Z-Boy's revolving line of credit increased by $16.5 million to $87.0 million."

Business Outlook

Darrow stated, "Although the magnitude of volume declines is not as great as we experienced over the last several quarters, we remain concerned about the overall macroeconomic environment and it is too early to predict a recovery for our industry. We will continue to look for ways to drive sales and operate our business in the most efficient manner possible while continuing to make whatever changes are necessary to our business model. We will also maintain a clear focus on our balance sheet to ensure our company has the greatest operating flexibility in the challenging environment."

Conference Call

La-Z-Boy will hold a conference call with the investment community on Wednesday, November 18, 2009, at 8:30 a.m. eastern time. The toll-free dial-in number is 877.407.0778; international callers may use 201.689.8565.

Forward-looking Information

Any forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based on current information and assumptions and represent management's best judgment at the present time. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated or projected due to a number of factors. These factors include, but are not limited to: (a) changes in consumer confidence and demographics; (b) continued economic recession and fluctuations in our stock price; (c) changes in the real estate and credit markets and the potential impacts on our customers and suppliers; (d) the impact of terrorism or war; (e) continued energy and other commodity price changes; (f) the impact of logistics on imports; (g) the impact of interest rate and currency exchange rate changes; (h) operating factors, such as supply, labor or distribution disruptions including changes in operating conditions, product recalls or costs; (i) effects of restructuring actions; (j) changes in the domestic or international regulatory environment; (k) the impact of adopting new accounting principles; (l) the impact from natural events such as hurricanes, earthquakes and tornadoes; (m) the ability to procure fabric rolls and leather hides or cut and sewn fabric and leather sets domestically or abroad; (n) those matters discussed in Item 1A of our fiscal 2009 Annual Report and factors relating to acquisitions and other factors identified from time-to-time in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, either to reflect new developments or for any other reason.

Additional Information

This news release is just one part of La-Z-Boy's financial disclosures and should be read in conjunction with other information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is available at http://www.la-z-boy.com/about/InvestorRelations/sec_filings.aspx. Investors and others wishing to be notified of future La-Z-Boy news releases, SEC filings and quarterly investor conference calls may sign up at:

http://www.la-z-boy.com/about/investorRelations/IR_email_alerts.aspx.

Background Information

La-Z-Boy Incorporated is one of the world's leading residential furniture producers, marketing furniture for every room of the home. The La-Z-Boy Upholstery Group companies are Bauhaus, England and La-Z-Boy. The La-Z-Boy Casegoods Group companies are American Drew/Lea, Hammary and Kincaid.

The corporation's proprietary distribution network is dedicated exclusively to selling La-Z-Boy Incorporated products and brands, and includes 311 stand-alone La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries® stores and 487 independent ComfortStudios®, in addition to in-store gallery programs at the company's Kincaid, England and Lea operating units. According to industry trade publication In Furniture, the La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries retail network is North America's largest single-brand furniture retailer. Additional information is available at http://www.la-z-boy.com/.


                              LA-Z-BOY INCORPORATED
                      CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS

                                                       Second Quarter Ended
     (Unaudited, amounts in thousands, except per      --------------------
       share data)                                      10/24/09  10/25/08
                                                        --------  --------
    Sales                                               $300,707  $331,948
    Cost of sales
       Cost of goods sold                                204,962   243,090
       Restructuring                                         663     2,236
                                                             ---     -----
    Total cost of sales                                  205,625   245,326
       Gross profit                                       95,082    86,622
    Selling, general and administrative                   84,697   101,499
    Write-down of goodwill                                     -       408
    Restructuring                                            520       687
                                                             ---       ---
       Operating income (loss)                             9,865   (15,972)
    Interest expense                                         831     1,651
    Interest income                                          199       630
    Other income (expense), net                              236      (685)
                                                             ---      ----
       Earnings (loss) before income taxes                 9,469   (17,678)
    Income tax expense                                     3,762    36,032
                                                           -----    ------
       Net income (loss)                                   5,707   (53,710)
    Net (income) loss attributable to
     noncontrolling interests                                200       (34)
                                                             ---       ---
       Net income (loss) attributable to La-Z-Boy
        Incorporated                                      $5,907  $(53,744)
                                                          ======  ========

    Basic average shares                                  51,527    51,458
    Basic net income (loss) attributable to
     La-Z-Boy Incorporated per share                       $0.11    $(1.05)

    Diluted average shares                                51,755    51,458
    Diluted net income (loss) attributable to
     La-Z-Boy Incorporated per share                       $0.11    $(1.05)

    Dividends paid per share                                  $-     $0.04



                               LA-Z-BOY INCORPORATED
                       CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS

                                                          Six Months Ended
    (Unaudited, amounts in thousands, except per          ----------------
     share data)                                       10/24/09     10/25/08
                                                       --------     --------
    Sales                                              $563,378     $653,600
    Cost of sales
       Cost of goods sold                               386,511      478,685
       Restructuring                                      1,399        8,032
                                                          -----        -----
    Total cost of sales                                 387,910      486,717
       Gross profit                                     175,468      166,883
    Selling, general and administrative                 162,153      192,770
    Write-down of goodwill                                    -        1,700
    Restructuring                                           821        1,467
                                                            ---        -----
       Operating income (loss)                           12,494      (29,054)
    Interest expense                                      1,810        3,146
    Interest income                                         475        1,562
    Other income (expense), net                             945         (541)
                                                            ---         ----
       Earnings (loss) before income taxes               12,104      (31,179)
    Income tax expense                                    4,201       30,988
                                                          -----       ------
       Net income (loss)                                  7,903      (62,167)
    Net (income) attributable to noncontrolling
     interests                                              (13)        (121)
                                                            ---         ----
       Net income (loss) attributable to La-Z-Boy
        Incorporated                                     $7,890     $(62,288)
                                                         ======     ========

    Basic average shares                                 51,503       51,443
    Basic net income (loss) attributable to
     La-Z-Boy Incorporated per share                      $0.15       $(1.21)

    Diluted average shares                               51,551       51,443
    Diluted net income (loss) attributable to
     La-Z-Boy Incorporated per share                      $0.15       $(1.21)

    Dividends paid per share                                 $-        $0.08



                                 LA-Z-BOY INCORPORATED
                              CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET

    (Unaudited, amounts in thousands)                  10/24/09     4/25/09
    --------------------------------                  ---------   ---------
    Current assets
       Cash and equivalents                             $59,037     $17,364
       Restricted cash                                      500      18,713
       Receivables, net of allowance of $25,195 at
        10/24/09 and $28,385 at 4/25/09                 162,878     147,858
       Inventories, net                                 138,946     140,178
       Deferred income taxes-current                        795         795
       Other current assets                              15,956      22,872
                                                         ------      ------
         Total current assets                           378,112     347,780
    Property, plant and equipment, net                  142,704     150,234
    Trade names                                           3,100       3,100
    Other long-term assets                               48,183      51,431
                                                         ------      ------
         Total assets                                  $572,099    $552,545
                                                       ========    ========

    Current liabilities
       Current portion of long-term debt                 $2,067      $8,724
       Accounts payable                                  46,318      41,571
       Accrued expenses and other current
        liabilities                                      86,167      75,733
                                                         ------      ------
         Total current liabilities                      134,552     126,028
    Long-term debt                                       46,911      52,148
    Deferred income taxes                                   724         724
    Other long-term liabilities                          67,950      63,875
    Contingencies and commitments                             -           -
    Equity
      La-Z-Boy Incorporated shareholders' equity:
         Common shares, $1 par value                     51,546      51,478
         Capital in excess of par value                 199,585     205,945
         Retained earnings                               87,342      70,769
         Accumulated other comprehensive loss           (20,955)    (22,698)
                                                        -------     -------
            Total La-Z-Boy Incorporated shareholders'
             equity                                     317,518     305,494
         Noncontrolling interests                         4,444       4,276
                                                          -----       -----
           Total equity                                 321,962     309,770
                                                        -------     -------
             Total liabilities and equity              $572,099    $552,545
                                                       ========    ========



                                  LA-Z-BOY INCORPORATED
                         CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

                              Second Quarter Ended        Six Months Ended
    (Unaudited, amounts       --------------------        ----------------
     in thousands)           10/24/09      10/25/08      10/24/09   10/25/08
                             --------      --------      --------   --------
    Cash flows from
     operating activities
       Net income (loss)      $5,707       $(53,710)      $7,903    $(62,167)
       Adjustments to
        reconcile net
        income (loss) to
        cash provided by
        (used for)
        operating activities
       Gain on sale of
        assets                   (75)          (604)         (88)     (2,670)
       Write-down of
        long-lived assets        200              -          200           -
       Write-down of
        goodwill                   -            408            -       1,700
       Restructuring           1,183          2,923        2,220       9,499
       Provision for
        doubtful accounts      2,152          4,797        4,514       9,000
       Depreciation and
        amortization           6,135          5,989       12,244      11,943
       Stock-based
        compensation expense   1,621            986        2,628       1,855
       Change in
        receivables          (26,484)       (22,261)     (17,586)     (8,091)
       Change in
        inventories            3,329            (63)       1,231      10,843
       Change in other
        assets                11,106          2,272        6,439        (529)
       Change in payables      7,073          8,375        4,747       1,927
       Change in other
        liabilities           10,282         (5,199)      11,553     (26,117)
       Change in deferred
        taxes                     (8)        41,677            -      42,838
                                  --          -----          ---      ------
         Total adjustments    16,514         39,300       28,102      52,198
                              ------         ------       ------      ------
         Net cash provided
          by (used for)
          operating
          activities          22,221        (14,410)      36,005      (9,969)

    Cash flows from
     investing activities
       Proceeds from
        disposals of
        assets                   230          2,805        1,916       7,786
       Capital expenditures   (1,340)        (2,618)      (2,779)     (9,990)
       Purchases of
        investments           (1,338)        (3,516)      (2,537)     (8,965)
       Proceeds from sales
        of investments         1,445          5,233        4,109      11,027
       Change in
        restricted cash            -         (2,668)      17,007      (2,956)
       Change in other
        long-term assets          29            158           14         229
                                  --            ---           --         ---
         Net cash provided
          by (used for)
          investing activities  (974)          (606)      17,730      (2,869)

      Cash flows from
       financing activities
        Proceeds from debt    10,213         24,831       20,673      39,466
        Payments on debt     (10,408)        (6,430)     (32,567)    (25,287)
        Dividends paid             -         (2,074)           -      (4,151)
                                 ---         ------          ---      ------
         Net cash provided
          by (used for)
          financing
          activities            (195)        16,327      (11,894)     10,028

    Effect of exchange
     rate changes on
     cash and equivalents       (348)          (604)        (168)       (643)
                                ----           ----         ----        ----
    Change in cash and
     equivalents              20,704            707       41,673      (3,453)
    Cash and equivalents
     at beginning of
     period                   38,333         10,317       17,364      14,477
                              ------         ------       ------      ------
    Cash and equivalents
     at end of period        $59,037        $11,024      $59,037     $11,024
                             =======        =======      =======     =======

    Cash paid (net of
     refunds) during
     period - income
     taxes                  $(13,348)         $(719)    $(13,082)       $204
    Cash paid during
     period - interest          $563         $1,287       $1,288      $2,413



                                LA-Z-BOY INCORPORATED
                                 SEGMENT INFORMATION

                              Second Quarter Ended        Six Months Ended
                              --------------------        ----------------
    (Unaudited, amounts in   10/24/09     10/25/08      10/24/09     10/25/08
     thousands)             (13 weeks)   (13 weeks)    (26 weeks)   (26 weeks)
                            ---------    ---------     ---------    ---------
    Sales
      Upholstery Group       $232,780     $247,934     $429,472     $485,052
      Casegoods Group          37,302       48,473       73,167       96,594
      Retail Group             38,014       39,484       73,976       81,911
      VIEs                     12,248       11,793       23,987       25,871
      Other/eliminations      (19,637)     (15,736)     (37,224)     (35,828)
                              -------      -------      -------      -------
       Consolidated          $300,707     $331,948     $563,378     $653,600
                             ========     ========     ========     ========

    Operating income (loss)
      Upholstery Group        $25,359       $8,338      $41,649      $18,194
      Casegoods Group            (184)         755         (305)       2,132
      Retail Group             (5,301)     (10,391)     (10,969)     (20,401)
      VIEs                       (402)      (2,621)        (137)      (3,709)
      Corporate and Other      (8,424)      (8,722)     (15,524)     (14,071)
      Goodwill write-down           -         (408)           -       (1,700)
      Restructuring            (1,183)      (2,923)      (2,220)      (9,499)
                               ------       ------       ------       ------
                               $9,865     $(15,972)     $12,494     $(29,054)
                               ======     ========       =======    ========

SOURCE La-Z-Boy Incorporated

Kathy Liebmann, +1-734-241-2438, kathy.liebmann@la-z-boy.com