BASSETT, VA -  Bassett Furniture Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq: BSET) declared a regular dividend of $.05 per share payable on May 31, 2013 to shareholders of record as of May 15.

Sales for Bassett Furniture rose 21 percent in fourth quarter 2012 to $76.8 million compared to the year prior period; for the year they rose 6.5 percent to $269 million.Net income rose 22 percent for the quarter to $16.9 million, but for the year dropped by over 50 percent to $26 million.

"We are operating a much healthier retail network that is no longer plagued by the store closings of the past few years," said Robert H. Spilman, Jr., Bassett Furniture president and CEO during the earnings announcement earlier this year.

In its annual report issued last month, Bassett Furniture notes approximately 50 percent of its 2012 wholesale sales were of imported product, down slightly from the 52 percent in 2011.  It also lists risk factors to its business, a disclosure required in SEC filings. It notes that its "use of foreign sources for the supply of many of our products exposes us to risks associated with overseas sourcing."

Risks cited are typical concerns of any importer: foreign government regulation, delays in shipments, and extended lead time in ordering. "Governments in the foreign countries where we source our products may change their laws, regulations and policies, including those related to tariffs and trade barriers, investments, taxation and exchange controls which could make it more difficult to service our customers," Bassett Furniture notes.

"Shipping delays and extended order lead times may adversely affect our ability to respond to sudden changes in demand, resulting in the purchase of excess inventory in the face of declining demand, or lost sales due to insufficient inventory in the face of increasing demand, either of which would also have an adverse effect on our earnings."