Hooker Furniture Corp. announced that the company's Executive Vice President of Operations, Sekar Sundararajan, is leaving the firm to return to private consulting, effective November 30, 2009.

Hooker Furniture Corp. has invented a new type of furniture called a hobby cabinet that the company will introduce at the upcoming international trade show in High Point, N.C. October 17-22. The hobby cabinet consists of a credenza and hutch combination that is slightly under eight feet tall. With their hobby cabinet, Hooker Furniture hopes to enhance the stress-reduction qualities of crafting even further by providing a central station for organizing paper, glue, scissors, tape and the like so they are easy to find. The hobby cabinet will be available in retail stores early in 2010.

Hooker Furniture Corp. reported unaudited consolidated earnings results for the second quarter and six months ended August 2, 2009. For the quarter, the company reported net loss of $463,000 or $0.04 per basic and diluted share on net sales of $45,978,000 against net income of $2,074,000 or $0.18 per basic and diluted share on net sales of $64,628,000 for the period ended August 3, 2008. Operating loss of $499,000 compared to operating income of $3,121,000 for the period ended August 3, 2008. Loss before income taxes was $525,000 compared to income before income taxes was $3,289,000 for the period ended August 3, 2008. For the six months, the company reported net loss of $919,000 or $0.09 per basic and diluted share on net sales of $98,041,000 against net income of $4,679,000 or $0.41 per basic and diluted share on net sales of $135,655,000 for the period ended August 3, 2008. Operating loss of $1,126,000 compared to operating income of $7,071,000 for the period ended August 3, 2008. Loss before income taxes was $1,155,000 compared to income before income taxes was $7,426,000 for the period ended August 3, 2008. Net cash provided by operating was $25,984,000 compared to $2,747,000 for the period ended August 3, 2008. Purchase of property, plant and equipment was $1,292,000 compared to $1,303,000 for the period ended August 3, 2008. The company at its board of directors meeting on September 9, 2009, declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.10 per share, payable on November 27, 2009 to shareholders of record November 13, 2009. On July 31, Brad Miller joined the company in the new position of Vice President of International Sales. In this position, Miller will be responsible for all sales outside of North America and will provide leadership in achieving Hooker's long term strategic goal of growing international sales and developing a significant international sales business. Miller has twenty years of global sales and marketing and new business development experience. On July 16, the company announced plans to exit its Bradington-Young frame business in Woodleaf, N.C. by the end of the year and transfer that operation to its production facility in Cherryville, N.C. In connection with exiting that operation the company expects to record accelerated depreciation of about $100,000 ($0.01 per share after tax). If Hooker is unsuccessful in finding a buyer for the business, and as a result must close the operation, it expects to record restructuring charges of about $140,000 pretax (or about $0.01 per share after tax) principally for severance and related employee benefits that would be provided to the terminated Woodleaf employees.