Express Inc.’s Q4 Results Beat Estimates but Outlook Disappoints, Shares Down About 10% (EXPR)
Although heavy promotions and low priced merchandising helped Express Inc. (NYSE: EXPR) to hand better than expected fiscal fourth-quarter results, shares were hammered on Wednesday after the apparel and accessories maker said that it was off to a slow start in the current quarter and provided lackluster outlook.
The Company said that its financials will face pressure due to fall in consumer spending. Increase in gasoline prices, higher payroll taxes, and delays in tax refunds have prompted many retailers to provide a very cautious or downbeat outlook in the recent past as they anticipate dip in consumer discretionary spending.
However, earlier in the morning, a data release from the U.S. Commerce Department showed that retail sales in February jumped 1.1% in February against economists’ expectation for 0.5% increase and January’s retail sales were upwardly revised to 0.2% from initial estimation of 0.1% increase.
For the fiscal fourth quarter ended February 2, Express reported net income of $63.9 million, or 75 cents a share, up from $60.4 million, or 68 cents a share, in the same quarter of last fiscal year.
Revenue during the period climbed 8 percent to $728.7 million while same-store-sales including e-commerce sales increased 1.5 percent.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, were expecting earnings of 74 cents a share on revenue of $722.38 million.
For the current quarter, The Company anticipates same-store sales to remain flat or fall marginally compared with a 4 percent gain in the year earlier quarter. Express said that customers’ traffic was low at its stores in February while average billing was declined.
The Company expects earnings to be in the range of 34 cents to 38 cents a share while analysts’ consensus estimate was for 46 cents a share, according to a data compiled by Thomson Reuters.
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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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