Cabinet maker ends quarter with a loss

WINCHESTER -- Local cabinet maker American Woodmark Corp. swung to a loss in the company's fiscal-year second quarter on a 16 percent drop in sales.

The manufacturer posted a net loss of $481,000, or 3 cents a share, for the three months ended Oct. 31, compared with a profit of $1.2 million, or 8 cents a share, for the same quarter last year.

Despite weakness in the U.S. housing market, the company's results marked the third consecutive quarter in which American Woodmark "operated at essentially a break-even level," Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Wolk told investors in a conference call Tuesday.

The company's remodeling sales dropped by a low-teens percentage, while new construction sales fell about 20 percent during the quarter.

Overall net sales fell to $134.9 million. American Woodmark's major customers include Home Depot and Lowe's.

-- Daily Staff Report