Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 6, 1994 TAG: 9401060245
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The move is expected to broaden the market for the company's stock, especially among institutional investors such as pension funds.
Rowe shares currently are traded on the American Stock Exchange, where its stock closed Wednesday at $21.62 1/2, unchanged from Tuesday's close, with 42,000 shares changing hands.
Rowe's stock value has risen more than $18 a share since October 1992. In mid-December, it announced its third 3-for-2 split in a year.
The latest split, to be paid Jan. 18, means the number of outstanding shares of Rowe stock will grow from 6.1 million currently to 9.15 million.
This week, the company also announced record shipments and earnings for the fiscal year ended Nov. 28. Net income was $5 million, or 81 cents per share, on shipments of $89 million, compared with net income of $1.4 million, or 24 cents a share, in 1992.
The stock could begin trading on the New York exchange as early as Jan. 18, said Rowe treasurer Art Dunkin. The stock's ticker symbol will remain ROW.
The increased number of shares and the New York Stock Exchange affiliation are expected to attract larger institutional investors to the company.
Nelson Publications, a securities industry publisher, estimated that 23.5 percent of Rowe's stock was held by institutional investors in late 1992. Major holders included First Union Corp., Charlotte, N.C., parent of First Union National Bank of Virginia of Roanoke, and Dominion Trust Co., a unit of Dominion Bankshares Corp., which this year was bought by First Union.
G.M. Birnbach, president and chairman of the board, said the move should not only "help broaden the market" for the stock, but would "gain greater recognition for the company's accomplishments and growth prospects."
Rowe for several years has had an active quality-management program that has increased its production while lowering costs, Birnbach said.
The result, he said, is that the company has not had to raise the price of its furniture for three years.
Rowe manufactures medium-priced upholstered furniture. Its manufacturing headquarters are in Salem; corporate offices are in Alexandria. The company's divisions include Salem Frame Co. and manufacturing and frame plants in Missouri.
\ ROWE FURNITURE CORP.\ \ Rowe Furniture is a major U.S. maker of medium-priced upholstered living-room furniture. Through subsidaries, it also makes furniture frames.\ \ The company's headquarters are in Arlington. Manufacturing plants are in Salem, Poplar Bluff, and Morehouse, Mo. It employs 1,150 workers.\ \ Rowe reported earnings of $5 million on revenue of $89 million in its most recent fiscal year, ended Nov. 28.\ \ Source: The company
by CNB