Dillard’s Inc. saw its shares jump 12.8 percent to $75.00 in early after-hours trading following the retailer’s disclosure of its fourth-quarter earnings report that bested Wall Street’s estimates. The company posted earnings results on Monday after the stock market closed its trading session for the day.
In a Nutshell: The retailers saw strong sales trends in home and furniture, followed by cosmetics and men’s apparel and accessories. Sales were strongest in the Eastern region, followed by the Western and Central region, the company said. Gross margin from retail operations, including the company CDI Construction business, was 30.3 percent for the quarter, versus 31 percent a year ago due to “increase markdowns,” the company said. As of Feb. 2, the retailer operated 265 Dillard’s stores and 26 clearance centers.
Sales: Total revenues for the quarter ended Feb. 2 slipped 2.5 percent to $2.06 billion from $2.11 billion a year ago. Included in revenues was a 2.4 percent dip in net sales to $2.01 billion from $2.06 billion. The balance of revenue was from service charges and other income. Drilling down a little further, Dillard’s said total merchandise sales were $1.96 billion versus $2.02 billion a year ago. Comparable-store sales rose 2 percent, the company said.
Earnings: The company reports net income of $85.1 million, or $3.22 a diluted share, compared with net income of $157.6 million. or $5.55, a year ago. Wall Street was expecting $2.76 a diluted share for the quarter.
CEO’s Take: William T. Dillard, II, said, “Our 2 percent comparable store sales increase for 2018 is comprised of four quarters of positive sales.”