Third Quarter Profits Shoot Up at 1-800-Flowers.com

Things are looking up for Carle Place, NY-based 1-800-Flowers.com, which reported third-quarter net income of $3.3 million -- a 212% increase over the same period last year.

For the quarter ended March 30, sales increased 2.7%, to $219.6 million, compared with $213.8 million last year.

CEO Jim McCann said in a release that 1-800-Flowers.com achieved strong bottom-line results in the third quarter “by focusing on leveraging our business platform to reduce our operating expense ratio and targeting our marketing initiatives to drive profitable growth.”

Revenue for the company’s BloomNet Wire Service -- which offers a suite of business tools for professional florists -- rose about 21%, to $15.4 million. It helped that during the third quarter BloomNet launched its “Florists for Forests” program, which allows a florist to help the environment by eliminating the need for a paper-based directory and, in return, have BloomNet plant two trees on their behalf.

1-800-Flowers.com reports that sales in the home and children’s gifts category declined 7.3%, to $24.6 million. This reduction, the company says, reflects its decision to reduce its marketing efforts in the category to improve profitability. The company noted in its quarterly report that sales are weaker in this category due to “the continued weakness in the housing market.”