THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Furniture, electronics and appliance retailer Conn’s posted a 7% revenue increase in fiscal fourth quarter, but recorded a sharp decrease in net income as the credit-oriented retailer boosted provisions for bad debt.

CEO and President Norm Miller said the more than 100-store retailer will be making “strategic enhancements” this year to help it digest its growth and improve its infrastructure.

Total revenues for the quarter ended Jan. 31, increased 7% to $456.8 million, while same-store sales decreased 1.7%. Net income for the period decreased to $1.06 million or 3 cents per share million from $15.46 million or 42 cents per share for the same quarter a year ago.

Conn’s star categories of furniture and bedding continued to shine in the fourth quarter, with furniture unit volume increasing 35.3% and mattress unit volume jumping 29%. That compares to home appliance unit volume increasing 7.5% and volume decreases in its other product categories.

For the fourth quarter, furniture and mattress sales accounted for 46.6% of the retailer’s product gross profit, compared to 22.3% for appliances, 24.6% for electronics and 5.1% for its home office category.

“Our retail operations continue to perform well and we expect to see further margin expansion as a result of increased sales from our furniture and mattress category, as well as additional margin benefits from opening stores within our existing distribution network and established market areas,” Miller said in a release.

“From a credit standpoint, we are committed to proactively managing risk. Continual modifications to underwriting and collections over the last couple of years have helped offset a challenging regulatory environment facing financial companies and increased availability of credit to consumers since the recession.”

Miller also said Conn’s will be “making strategic enhancements in our business to digest the rapid growth we have experienced and improve our infrastructure to produce consistent and predictable earnings growth.”

This year, Conn’s will be investing in information technology, credit and personnel, he said, “to support our long-term goal of becoming a national retailer, while moderating our revenue growth plan to ensure a high level of execution.”

Excluding the impact of the retailer’s decision to exit video game products, digital cameras and certain tablets, Conn’s said its same-store sales increased 3.6%. Its retail gross margin increased to 36.1% in the fourth quarter from 35.7% for the same period a year ago.

Conn’s credit segment operating loss increased to $19.3 million from $11.3 million, driven largely by an increased provision for bad debts and a decrease in portfolio yield, the company said.

Conn’s opened two stores in the fourth quarter and a net 13 stores for the fiscal year. It expects to open 10 to 15 stores this year.

For the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, Conn’s revenues increased 8.6% to $1.61 billion, while net income decreased to $30.86 million or 87 cents per share from $58.51 million or $1.59 per share a year ago.

Conn’s said it’s looking for revenue growth in the mid- to high single digits this year, but expects same-store sales will be down in the low single digits to flat as a result of finance underwriting changes.