Canadian furniture retailer Leon’s reported record financial results for the third quarter of 2016, with sales and revenue growth exceeding 4% in the three months ended Sept. 30.

The Toronto-based retailer, which also owns The Brick, reports earnings in Canadian dollars.

Total sales grew 4.3% to C$674 million compared to C$646 million in the same quarter of 2015, including a jump of 4.1% in same store sales. Revenue jumped 4.9% to C$576 million in Q3 compared to $549 million a year ago.

Net income surged ahead 15.5% to C$56.2 million in the quarter or 39 Canadian cents, compared to $48.7 million or 31 Canadian cents in 2015’s third quarter.

“We are very pleased we generated solid same store sales and earnings growth in Q3,” said Edward Leon, president and chief operating officer of Leon’s. “We have driven greater traffic and increased average ticket price at the store level across all our banners this year. We are focused on continuing to grow the top line while maintaining stringent cost controls and generating incremental synergies now that our IT integration with The Brick is complete.”

For the year, Leon’s reported sales growth of C$1.83 billion, a 5.2% increase from C$1.74 billion for the first nine months of 2015. Same store sales grew 4.7% over that time period. Revenue grew 5.7% to C$1.56 billion in the first nine months of 2016 compared to C$1.47 billion in the first nine months of 2015.

Net income is also up for the year, as Leon’s reported an 8.8% jump to C$112.7 million or 65 Canadian cents for the first nine months of 2016 compared to C$103.5 million or 55 Canadian cents.

Leon noted that the retailer is poised to continue its growth, as in October, it announced the opening of 10 new stores throughout Canada, including four in British Columbia.

“Both of our core banners now have a meaningful presence in all key areas of the country,” he said. “We remain confident that we are poised to drive significant value for our shareholders in the coming years.”

Additionally, Leon’s announced that long-time Brick executive Dave Freeman had been promoted to president of its Brick division.

Freeman joined the Brick in 1980, as a member of the company’s distribution team. He has held a variety of roles in his 36 years with the organization, most recently as senior vice president of operations.

“Dave has been a valuable member of the Brick organization for more than 35 years,” Edward Leon said. “We are confident that his leadership and success in several senior roles, have prepared him to lead the Brick into many years of continued growth and profitability.”

(Source: furnituretoday.com  Author: Thomas Lester)