On Tuesday Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) reported that its first-quarter profits fell due to economic conditions, and furniture maker La-Z-Boy Inc. (NYSE: LZB) said it swung to a fiscal fourth-quarter loss due to lower retail sales.

Best Buy's first-quarter profits dropped 7% from a year ago to $179 million, or 43 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected a profit of 37 cents per share.

Richfield-based Best Buy said revenue jumped 13% to $8.99 billion as customers began spending their government stimulus checks and also took advantage of low-interest financing. Analysts had expected sales of $8.57 billion for the quarter that ended on May 31.

Same-store sales rose 3.7%, but Best Buy warned of a "volatile" year ahead.

The share price fell 5.3% Tuesday to close at $43.46. Shares have risen 10.2% in the past three months, but are down 9% from a year ago.

Continue reading Best Buy Q1 profit falls: La-Z-Boy swings to Q4 loss

Best Buy Q1 profit falls: La-Z-Boy swings to Q4 loss originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.