Shares of the Dixie Group Inc. plunged by more than 18.5% Thursday after the company reported another quarterly loss from continuing operations of nearly $2.6 million, or 16 cents per share.
Hurt by the fall off in its residential carpet sales to major big box retailers like Lowe’s, the Dalton, Georgia-based carpet maker said net sales in the third quarter of this year were down 6% from a year ago to $95.4 million. A double-digit drop in residential carpet sales was offset, to some extent, by higher luxury vinyl flooring sales.
Dixie’s operating loss in the past three months was down from the $2.9 million, or 19 cents per share, that Dixie reported from ongoing operations in the third quarter of 2018.
Dixie Group CEO Dan Frierson said the company has strengthened its balance sheet by the recent sale of its California production plant and by cost cuts and refinancing of debt.
Nonetheless, investors who bid up Dixie’s stock two weeks ago by more 43% after the California plant sale was announced sold off shares on Thursday and cut Dixie’s value 18.55% in trading on the Nasdaq exchange.