AnnTaylor Stores
AnnTaylor Stores Corp. reported an almost 8% decline in second-quarter earnings amid a weakening economy but reiterated its full-year profit outlook as the women’s clothing chain reaps the benefits from tighter control of inventories.
The New York-based retail chain said Friday that it earned $29.3 million, or 51 cents per share, for the three-month period ended Aug. 2 compared with $31.7 million, or 50 cents per share, in the year-ago period.
The earnings per share rose in part because there were 5.8 million fewer shares outstanding in the latest quarter than in the year-ago period.
Revenues declined 3.6% to $592.3 million from $614.5 million in the year-ago period. Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, dropped 10.8% from a year ago. Same-store sales are considered a key indicator of a retailer’s health.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters (TRI) expected earnings per share of 49 cents on $622.9 million for the period.
"We delivered a very respectable second-quarter performance, despite the impacts of significant macroeconomic softness and a deteriorating consumer environment, both of which continue to weigh on the retail sector," Kay Krill, president and CEO of AnnTaylor (ANN), said in a statement fast cash now. "Our relentless focus on inventory management and expense control, along with our share repurchase program, enabled us to deliver earnings per share that exceeded year-ago."
AnnTaylor said that it continues to expect earnings per share to be in the range of $1.80 to $1.90 per share for the current fiscal year. The projections are based on total net sales expected to be unchanged to down slightly. Same-store sales are expected to be down in the mid-single digits for the year.