By Christiana Sciaudone
Investing.com -- Lumber Liquidators (NYSE:LL) is up 19% as our budgets turn their focus away from cruises and flights to the Caribbean and toward our homes.
The flooring company saw profit soar from 4 cents in the third quarter of 2019 to 53 cents in 2020. That beat the expected per-share profit of 26 cents on sales of $296 million, which compares to the estimated $276 million.
"Our sales trends strengthened as we saw sequential improvement in our Pro and Install customers from the second to the third quarter, driven by increased willingness from customers to allow contractors into their homes for home improvement and installation projects," said Chief Executive Officer Charles Tyson.
Lumber Liquidators, which has changed its name to LL Flooring, saw a net sales increase of 12% from a year earlier. Administrative expense fell 0.1% from a year earlier.
The company will close its Canadian operations, including all eight stores in Canada, and six underperforming U.S. locations by the end of 2020.
Shares are up more than 160% for the year.