Two weeks ago today the shares of furniture retailer Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK) surged 14% after it released its FY 2016 results. An impressive year saw Nick Scali report a huge 53% increase in net profit after tax to $26.2 million.
Today it was the turn of rival furniture retailer Fantastic Holdings Limited (ASX: FAN) to report its full year results to the market and it didn't disappoint. Sales revenue increased 9.4% to a record $543.7 million and continuing net profit after tax was up a massive 63% to $21.4 million.
The $21.4 million profit does of course exclude the closing of the loss-making Adelaide Le Cornu business. Including this into the results and statutory net profit after tax actually dropped to $11.4 million from $13.2 million in FY 2015.
But with the Le Cornu loss and closure already priced in, all eyes were firmly on the performance of its core operations. The market clearly likes what it has seen, sending its share price higher by over 10% in early trade.
The Le Cornu closure aside, I was impressed with the company's performance. Like for like store sales rose 11.8% for the year, which is all the more impressive when you consider that this was on top of 12.2% like for like sales growth in FY 2015.
Pleasingly CEO Debra Singh is optimistic on FY 2017. She believes the company is well positioned for growth by expanding its store network, accelerating its market-leading connected customer sales channel, and by leveraging the benefits of its wholly-owned manufacturing and direct import capabilities. Its zero debt and cash balance of $31.9 million certainly provides a sound base to fund its store expansion plans.
Fantastic Furniture declared a final dividend of 7 cents per share with a special dividend of 15 cents per share. This brought the full year distribution to 29 cents per share, equating to a monster full year fully franked 9.7% dividend.
For as long as the Australian housing market remains strong, I believe Fantastic Holdings, Nick Scali, and Beacon Lighting Group Ltd (ASX: BLX) will be able to keep growing their top and bottom lines.
Because of this I expect Fantastic Holdings to prove to be a good investment over the next 12 months, however it would be prudent for investors to keep a close eye out for any weakness in the housing market.
