17 Mar Caleres Beats Q4 Profit Forecasts
Caleres Inc., the parent of Famous Footwear, reported earnings slumped 29.8 percent to $11.4 million, or 26 cents a share. Results exceeded Wall Street’s consensus estimate of 22 cents a share.
Fourth Quarter
Net sales of $608.7 million up 0.4 percent, excluding sales from Shoes.com, which was sold in December of 2014
Gross margin up 55 basis points to 40.8 percent
Adjusted operating margin up 13 basis points to 2.8 percent
Adjusted diluted EPS of $0.26 up 30.0 percent, on adjusted net earnings of $11.4 million
Cash and equivalents of $118.2 million, with inventory up less than 1 percent
Full Year
Net sales of $2,577.4 million up 2.0 percent, excluding sales from Shoes.com
Gross margin up 21 basis points to 40.7 percent
Adjusted operating margin up 21 basis points to 5.2 percent
Adjusted diluted EPS of $2.00 up 16.3 percent, on adjusted net earnings of $88.0 million
ROIC improved to 12.6 percent from 11.6 percent
“At Caleres, we actively managed through what was poised to be a difficult quarter. We cut through the noise in the marketplace during the holiday season and delivered improved gross and operating margin, while maintaining our inventory position,” said Diane Sullivan, CEO, president and chairman of Caleres. “For the full year, we saw improvement at both the top and bottom line and delivered double digit earnings per share growth for the fourth year in a row.”
Fourth Quarter Segment Results
Famous Footwear
Same-store-sales up 0.8 percent
Gross margin up 58 basis points to 45.5 percent
Inventory up 1.2 percent on average store basis
Opened 12 new stores and closed 10
Brand Portfolio
Sales up 0.8 percent
Gross margin up 74 basis points to 33.8 percent
Inventory down 1.8 percent
Full Year Segment Results
Famous Footwear
Same-store-sales up 1.9 percent
Gross margin up 51 basis points to 44.9 percent
Opened 50 new stores and closed 42, with average revenue per square foot improving to $217
Brand Portfolio
Sales up 2.3 percent as segment crossed $1 billion
Gross margin down 5 basis points to 33.9 percent
“Caleres reported annual adjusted EPS growth of 16.3 percent, as we delivered margin enhancement related to continued improvement in inventory management throughout the year,” said Ken Hannah, chief financial officer of Caleres. “While we’re pleased with our performance in 2015, we realistically expect fourth quarter 2015 industry-related challenges and uncertainty to continue into the first half of 2016.”