BASSETT, Va. — Bassett Furniture Industries Inc. has had to make some tough decisions in recent months. It closed an e-commerce retailer, Noa, that it had purchased, dropped unproductive product lines, announced work force reductions, and planned to consolidate manufacturing, moving most production from one plant operating in the town named after its family, to another a few miles away. 

Tough decisions, made to curb a streak of five consecutive quarterly losses. In July, when it announced a 5-point restructuring plan, revenues had dropped 17%, and had an operating loss of $8.5 million.

In fourth-quarter results ended Nov. 30, 2024, released in January, revenues were still down -- by 11 percent -- but operating numbers were up, by $900,000.

The difference? Those tough decisions.

"Our industry has long been tied to housing and with persistent sluggish home sales, depleted levels of housing inventory and higher mortgage interest rates, furniture sales lagged again in the fourth quarter." said Rob Spilman, CEO of Bassett Furniture. "We took appropriate steps in 2024 to right-size our business through a comprehensive restructuring plan that we announced in July, and we've been executing since then. We are pleased to have returned Bassett to profitability for this quarter."

Bassett Furniture, which is the 49th ranked company on the FDMC 300 listing of top North American wood products manufacturers, reported revenue of $84.3 million in the fourth quarter, as compared to $94.7 million in fourth-quarter 2023. The operating income of $900,000 compared to a $4.5 million loss in 2023. 

Gains in operating income included a $1 million charge related to the wind-down of Noa Home, as well as a $400,000 restructuring charge related to workforce reductions announced last quarter.

Gross margin improved again, this time hitting 56.6%, driven primarily by wholesale gains. Wholesale sales totaled $52.3 million, a 13.7% decline from last year, but a $5 million gain from last quarter. Retail sales fell 8.3% to $53.1 million, a $6 million gain from last quarter.

"I will not deny that 2024 in general, and the implementation of the restructuring, was challenging," said Spilman in a conference call with financial analysts. "We made difficult decisions, but it has changed our mindset to run as a smaller company. At year-end, we had 11% fewer associates than a year ago."

He added that the company is continually reviewing operations to drive efficiency and deliver "innovation and newness" for its customers as the company works to overcome a struggling industry. 

"We don't have a crystal ball on projections for where the housing market or mortgage rates this year will be," he said. "Industry data points to similar [challenging] trends to last year. But with a leaner operating model and new features to our growth plan, we believe Bassett is well-positioned for the future."