Ethan Allen Interiors Inc.

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Ethan Allen Fiscal 2022 Second Quarter Analyst Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question-and-answer session will follow the presentation. Please note that this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Matt McMilte, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer. Thank you. You may begin.

Thank you, Diego. Good afternoon and welcome to Ethan Allen's analyst conference call for our fiscal 2022. Second quarter ended December 31st, 2021. Joining me today is Farouk Kathwari, our chairman, president, and CEO. Mr. Kathwari will open and close our prepared remarks while I will speak to financials midway through. After our prepared remarks, we will then open the call for your questions. Before we begin, I'd like to remind the audience that this call is being recorded and webcast live on ethanallen.com. where you will find a copy of our press release, which contains reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures referred to in this release and on this call. A replay of today's call will also be made available via phone and on our website. As a reminder, our comments today will include forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Please refer to our SEC filings for a complete review of those risks. The company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking matters discussed during this call. With that, I am pleased to now turn the call over to Mr. Kathwari.

Thank you, Matt, and good afternoon, and pleased that you have joined and happy to provide a brief overview of our results and focus as we move forward. As reported, we had strong results. Sales increased 16.4% to $208.1 million Gross margins increased to 58.8% from 56.7%, and adjusted operating margin rose to 15.7%, resulting in adjusted earnings per share of $0.95, a 37.7% increase. We also maintain strong cash position of $105.2 million and no debt. Also, as conveyed in our various communications, we are very pleased to celebrate 90 years of innovation and profitability. After Matt provides a brief overview of our financial results, I will review our initiatives to continue our growth in sales and earnings and also continue with strong dividends as we have done. As you know, Matt was recently promoted to CFO after serving as VP of Finance and Treasurer. Matt has a strong public and private accounting and finance background, and I'm very, very pleased to have him here to be part of the team. With that, Matt.