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.
