Genesco, owners of Journeys, Johnston & Murphy and the UK-based retailer, Schuh, reported fourth quarter earnings of $46.8 million, or $2.40 per diluted share, slightly up from $45 million, or $2.07 per diluted share for the same period last year.
Net sales for fourth quarter fiscal 2017 dropped 5 percent to $833 million from $932 million in the fourth quarter of FY 2016, showing the sale of the Lids Team Sports business in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, net sales for FY2017 also decreased 5 percent from $3 billion to $2.9 billion. This comes amidst challenges at Journeys.
“While Journeys has made good progress adjusting its assortment to better reflect current consumer demand, until it anniversaries the negative comps from last summer, we will continue to face headwinds,” said Robert Dennis, Genesco chairman, president and CEO. “In addition, Fiscal 2018 is off to a sluggish start, as expected, with the delayed income tax refunds clouding visibility into our sales trends early in the year. This plus some uncertainty with the direction of the overall retail economy causes us to be cautious about the current year. We expect adjusted diluted earnings per share for the year in the range of $4.40 to $4.55.”
In 2016, the company sold SureGrip Footwear for $12.3 million, as well as Lids Team Sports for $4.7 million early last year, which were both offset by other expenditures.
“While the current retail operating environment remains challenging, we continue to be optimistic about our long-term prospects for growth and margin recovery due to the solid strategic positioning of our businesses and the strength of our disciplined operating teams,” said Dennis.
Genesco’s total profits for the full year increased 3 percent, to $97.9 million, or $4.85 per diluted share, compared to earnings from continuing operations of $95.4 million, or $4.15 per diluted share during the same period last year.