Tile Shop Holdings Inc. shares climbed to their highest level in two years on Tuesday after first-quarter results beat investors' expectations and executives raised their outlook for the rest of the year.
The performance is the latest sign of a comeback by the Plymouth-based specialty retailer and comes amid broad strength in the home products market.
"Business across every geography and every vintage of store has been exceptionally strong in the quarter," Chris Homeister, the company's chief executive, said in a conference call with analysts.
He said natural stone, subway tile and faux wood, used to replace hardwood flooring, were strong sellers. "Within marble, white and gray marble is red hot and continues to be one of our biggest" sellers, Homeister said.
The company, which stumbled in 2013 after a controversy over the relationship between an executive's relative and a supplier, has regained momentum since Homeister, a former senior executive at Best Buy Inc., took the leadership reins last year.
In the first three months of this year, Tile Shop earned $6.8 million, or 13 cents a share, up from $3.7 million, or 7 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue grew 16 percent to $84.7 million. Stores open at least a year saw revenue increase 13.2 percent.
Those outsized gains led executives to forecast bigger results for the year than they previously had done. As a result investors pushed up the company's shares 12.3 percent to $17.91, a level last seen in January 2014.
Executives said they now expect full-year revenue to grow around 10 percent to a range of $320 million to $329 million, up from a previous guidance of $312 million to $325 million. The company had revenue of $293 million last year.
Executives also forecast full-year comparable-store sales growth in the mid- to high-single digits, up from the low- to mid-single digits of its earlier forecast. Last year, Tile Shop had comparable sales growth of 7.4 percent.
The company opened one store in the first three months of the year, growing its chain to 116 outlets in 31 states. Tile Shop plans to open nine to 12 stores this year, compared with seven in 2015.
Evan Ramstad • 612-673-4241
