1-800-Flowers.com says 2Q revenues are up

Carle Place-based florist and gift retailer, 1-800-Flowers.com  said its second quarter revenues rose despite superstorm Sandy and "fiscal cliff" worries, but the company's profits fell from the same period last year.

The online retailer's revenues for the quarter ending Dec. 30, 2012  were $253 million, a 5.5 percent increase from the 239.8 million in sales reported in the prior year.

Earnings for the quarter slipped to $16 million from the $16.6 million profit reported for the same period in the previous year.

Revenues in all three of the company's business segments grew in the second quarter.

"This was achieved despite a combination of the significant headwinds that characterized the quarter," said Jim McCann, chief executive of 1-800-Flowers.com, "including the impacts of superstorm Sandy on deliveries and consumer demand and the effects of the weakening consumer confidence, particularly in December, stemming from worries over the 'fiscal cliff.' " 

The fiscal cliff refers to a package of tax increases and severe federal spending cuts that had been the subject of congressional gridlock. Congress resolved the issue early in the new year.