Select Comfort profit is twice expectations

Select Comfort, which seemed near the brink of bankruptcy during the past year, reported net income Thursday that was more than double Wall Street's expectations.

Analysts had projected Select Comfort would turn in earnings of 7 cents per share, but the company produced 15 cents a share, up dramatically from 2 cents a year earlier. Net income was $6.9 million, up from $1 million.

The results, reported after the market closed, sent the stock up 6.4 percent in after-hours trading.

The company has been on a rollercoaster ride in recent months as its stock fell to an all-time low of 19 cents in December and shareholders rejected a proposal in August that would have given a private equity firm a majority interest in the bed maker.

But the company's third-quarter results Thursday showed evidence that aspects of its turnaround plan are bearing fruit. The company has shuttered 65 stores over the past year and cut costs.

Sales for the quarter that ended Oct. 3 fell by 6 percent to $147.5 million, but the company has 14 percent fewer stores. In same-store sales, Select Comfort reported 9 percent growth during the quarter.

Select Comfort, which had not released an earnings estimate in recent months, said Thursday that it expects full-year earnings of 2 to 8 cents a share.

The company has received a number of short-term waivers from its lenders. It recently did a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, seeking the ability to raise capital through a stock sale.

Select Comfort stock was flat in regular trading Thursday, closing at $5.78. But it gained 37 cents to rise to $6.15 in trading after the market closed.