Yahoo Finance Dillard's (DDS) Q4 Earnings Miss Estimates on Soft Sales
Dillard's Inc. DDS reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2015 adjusted earnings of $2.25 per share that missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.55 and plunged 39.4% on a year-over-year basis. Including a one-time gain related to the sale of a store location, earnings came in at $2.31 per share, down 27.1% from the prior-year quarter.
Dillard's Inc. (DDS) Street Actual & Estimate EPS - Last 5 Quarters | FindTheCompany
Dillard's total revenue (including service charges and other income) of $2,117.4 million slipped 2.9% from the year-ago quarter but was ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,088 million.
Dillard's net sales (including CDI Contractors LLC or CDI) dipped 2.9% year over year to $2,073.7 million in the reported quarter. Merchandise sales, excluding CDI, fell 2.3% to roughly $2,021 million. Merchandise comparable-store sales for the 13-week period ended Jan 30, 2016 dropped 2% from the comparable period ended Jan 31, 2015.
During the reported quarter, the outperforming categories were home and furniture that succeeded ladies’ accessories and lingerie. In contrast, the juniors’ and children’s apparel and shoes categories remained quite weak. The best performing region was Western, trailed by the Eastern and Central areas, respectively.
Consolidated gross margin contracted 318 basis points (bps), while gross margin from retail operations (excluding CDI) contracted 344 bps. The fall came on the back of higher markdowns in the quarter in order to compensate for the soft sales performance. Inventory remained flat year over year.
Dillard's selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses (as a percentage of sales) escalated 30 bps to 21.7%. In dollar terms, however, SG&A expenses declined 1.8% to $449.4 million driven by increased savings in supplies, advertising and payroll expenses.
Financial Details
Dillard’s ended fiscal 2015 with cash and cash equivalents of $202.9 million, long-term debt and capital leases standing (excluding current portions) at $622.1 million, and total shareholders’ equity of $1,795.3 million.
During the fiscal year, the company generated net cash flow from operations of $450.2 million.
During the fourth quarter, Dillard's bought back 1.6 million shares for $117.5 million, bringing the total share repurchases for fiscal 2015 to 5.3 million shares for $500 million. Further, this marked the completion of the company’s share repurchase program worth $500 million.
Store Update
In fiscal 2015, the company opened three new stores and shuttered two clearance stores. The new stores included a 200,000-square-foot store at Fashion Place in Murray, UT; a 155,000-square-foot store at Liberty Center in Cincinnati, OH; and a 126,000-square-foot store at Fremaux Town Center in Slidell, LA.
Additionally, the company announced the closure of its Aiken Mall location in Aiken, SC, which is scheduled for the first quarter of 2016.
As of Jan 30, 2016, Dillard’s had about 273 namesake outlets and 24 clearance centers operating in 29 states, as well as an online store at www.dillards.com. Dillard’s total square footage, as of the end of the fiscal year, was 50.1 million.
Zacks Rank
Currently, Dillard’s carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in the retail sector include DSW Inc. DSW, Foot Locker Inc. FL and Zumiez Inc. ZUMZ, each with a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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