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The Bon-Ton Stores – BONT – Comparable store sales increased 1.9%

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The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: BONT) reported results for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 ended October 27, 2012.

BONT – Third Quarter Highlights

  • Comparable store sales increased 1.9%.
  • Gross margin rate was 36.6% compared with 37.4% in the third quarter of fiscal 2011.
  • Operating income totaled $10.8 million, compared with operating income of $0.5 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2011.
  • Adjusted EBITDA increased $9.0 million to $34.1 million, compared with $25.0 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2011. Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure recognized under generally accepted accounting principles (see Note 1).
  • Net loss improved $11.9 million to $10.1 million, or $0.55 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $22.0 million, or $1.21 per diluted share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2011.

Brendan Hoffman, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We believe that our third quarter results reflect progress made as a result of initiatives we have been implementing throughout the year, including a better-balanced merchandise assortment, refined marketing efforts, our ‘Customer First’ shopping experience, and expense management. We were excited to see customers respond favorably to the new fall receipts and to our multi-channel methods of communication which created excitement and traffic in stores and online. This all led to 36% Adjusted EBITDA growth for the quarter as compared with the prior year third quarter.”

Mr. Hoffman continued, “We are looking forward to the holiday shopping season as we believe that we are well-positioned for continued momentum in the fourth quarter with strong merchandising and marketing initiatives in place.”

BONT – Year-to-date Highlights

  • Comparable stores sales increased 0.3%.
  • Gross margin rate was 35.6%, compared with 36.7% in the prior year period.
  • Operating loss totaled $25.3 million, compared with an operating loss of $13.8 million in the prior year period. Operating loss for the fiscal 2012 period includes an $8.0 million charge for severance-related costs associated with targeted reductions to the Company’s cost structure.
  • Adjusted EBITDA, inclusive of the aforementioned $8.0 million of severance-related costs, was $46.0 million, compared with $63.8 million in the prior year period

About The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. – BONT

The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. (BONT), with corporate headquarters in York, Pennsylvania and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, operates 273 department stores, which includes 11 furniture galleries, in 24 states in the Northeast, Midwest and upper Great Plains under the Bon-Ton, Bergner’s, Boston Store, Carson Pirie Scott, Elder-Beerman, Herberger’s and Younkers nameplates and, in the Detroit, Michigan area, under the Parisian nameplate. The stores offer a broad assortment of national and private brand fashion apparel and accessories for women, men and children, as well as cosmetics and home furnishings.

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edliston
Post Written By: Ed Liston
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.

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Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing.

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