Lumber Liquidators: 10K customers asked for air test kits

Author: Associated Press
Published:
MGN

TOANO, Va. (AP) – Lumber Liquidators said Thursday that about 10,000 of its customers have requested in-home air quality test kits, following a TV report that raised concerns over levels of formaldehyde in its Chinese-made laminate flooring.

The company recently offered the free air quality testing program in order to reassure its customers.

In early March a report on CBS’ “60 Minutes” said that Lumber Liquidators’ laminate flooring made in China contains high levels of formaldehyde, a carcinogen.

Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. has said that it complies with applicable regulations for its products, including California standards for formaldehyde emissions.

In late March, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said that it was investigating the Chinese-made laminate flooring, but could expand the investigation if the agency finds reason to do so. Lumber Liquidators has said that it is fully cooperating.

The company has arranged for an independent testing organization to send test kits to customers who request them. The Toano, Virginia-based company said that once the customer has the kit, it is up to them to follow the instructions provided on how to conduct the test and to mail the completed kit directly to a third-party lab for analysis.

Lumber Liquidators also announced first-quarter revenue of $260 million. This beat the $258.1 million that analysts polled by FactSet expected.

The company said that its March sales dropped 12.8 percent from a year ago, to $89.4 million, hurt by the allegations in the TV report.

Lumber Liquidators plans to provide its full first-quarter financial results on April 29.

The company had 356 locations at March’s end.

Its stock rose 89 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $33.90 in premarket trading Thursday about an hour before the market open.  Its shares are down 36 percent since late February.

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