Shoe Carnival Profit Surges
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowEvansville-based Shoe Carnival Inc. (Nasdaq: SCVL) is reporting fiscal fourth quarter net income of $3 million, compared to $598,000 during the same period the previous year. The company says it plans to open up to 22 new stores in fiscal 2015 and close 11 locations.
March 19, 2015
News Release
Evansville, Ind. — Shoe Carnival, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCVL) a leading retailer of moderately priced footwear and accessories, today reported results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended January 31, 2015.
Fourth Quarter Highlights
Net sales increased $27.3 million to $227.6 million, compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013
Comparable store sales increased 9.5 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, exceeded the Company's guidance for the quarter
Earnings per diluted share were $0.15, exceeded the Company's guidance for the quarter
Per-store inventories were down 5.0 percent at the end of the quarter, compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013
“We were pleased with our strong comparable store sales performance in the fourth quarter driven by broad based gains across all of our footwear categories. Although favorable weather played an important role in our strong performance, we believe our key initiatives of national advertising, better brands in our women's department and aggressive multi-channel initiatives continued to bring new customers to our stores, e-commerce site, and mobile touchpoints,” commented Cliff Sifford, President and CEO.
Fourth Quarter Financial Results
The Company reported net sales increased 13.6 percent to $227.6 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to net sales of $200.3 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. Comparable store sales increased 9.5 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014.
The gross profit margin for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 increased to 28.6 percent compared to 28.5 percent for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. The merchandise margin decreased 0.4 percent while buying, distribution and occupancy expenses decreased 0.5 percent, as a percentage of sales.
Selling, general and administrative expenses for the fourth quarter increased $4.4 million to $60.5 million. As a percentage of sales, these expenses decreased to 26.6 percent compared to 28.0 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013.
The Company opened one new store during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 compared to three stores in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013.
Net earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 were $3.0 million, or $0.15 per diluted share. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, the Company reported net earnings of $0.6 million, or $0.03 per diluted share. Fourth quarter earnings for fiscal 2014 includes approximately $.03 of additional expense within cost of sales attributable to the west coast port congestion.
Fiscal Year 2014 Financial Results
Net sales increased 6.3 percent to $940.2 million for fiscal 2014, as compared to net sales of $884.8 million for fiscal 2013. Comparable store sales for the 52-week period ended January 31, 2015 increased 1.8 percent. Net earnings for fiscal 2014 were $25.5 million, or $1.27 per diluted share, compared to net earnings of $26.9 million, or $1.32 per diluted share, in the last fiscal year.
Gross profit increased to $273.7 million in fiscal 2014. The gross profit margin in fiscal 2014 decreased to 29.1 percent from 29.3 percent in the prior fiscal year. Merchandise margin remained flat between years while buying, distribution and occupancy costs, as a percentage of sales, increased 0.2 percent.
Selling, general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of sales, were 24.6 percent for fiscal 2014 compared to 24.4 percent last year. The Company opened 31 stores during fiscal 2014 as compared to 32 stores in the prior year.
Speaking on the results, Cliff Sifford, President and CEO, said, “I am proud of our entire Shoe Carnival team who worked hard to deliver great product and excellent customer service helping us to exceed our fourth quarter guidance and achieve record annual sales. I am also excited with our customers' willingness to increasingly embrace our multi-channel shopping experience with increased traffic on-line and in our stores.”
Store Growth
During fiscal 2014, the Company opened 31 new stores and closed seven to end the year at 400 stores. One store was opened and five were closed in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. Total retail selling space increased to 4.4 million square feet at the end of fiscal 2014 from 4.1 million square feet at the end of fiscal 2013.
In fiscal 2015, the Company expects to open 18 to 22 new stores, relocate two stores and close 11 stores. During the first quarter of fiscal 2015, the Company expects to open seven stores, relocate one store and close six stores. In the first quarter of fiscal 2014, the Company opened seven stores, relocated two stores and one store was closed.
Share Repurchase Program
For the fiscal year ended January 31, 2015, approximately 405,000 shares were repurchased at an aggregate cost of $7.5 million under the Company's share repurchase program. On December 11, 2014, the Company's Board of Directors authorized a new share repurchase program for up to $25 million of its outstanding common stock, effective January 1, 2015. The new share repurchase program replaced the existing $25 million share repurchase program that was authorized in August 2010, which expired in accordance with its terms on December 31, 2014.
Fiscal 2015 Earnings Outlook
The Company expects fiscal 2015 net sales to be in the range of $977 million to $991 million, with a comparable store sales increase in the range of 1.5 to 3.0 percent. Earnings per diluted share for the fiscal year are expected to be in the range of $1.40 to $1.48. This represents an increase of 10 to 17 percent over fiscal 2014 earnings per diluted share of $1.27.
Conference Call
Today, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time, the Company will host a conference call to discuss the fourth quarter and fiscal 2014 results. Participants can listen to the live webcast of the call by visiting Shoe Carnival's Investors webpage at www.shoecarnival.com. While the question-and-answer session will be available to all listeners, questions from the audience will be limited to institutional analysts and investors. A replay of the webcast will be available on the Company's website beginning approximately two hours after the conclusion of the conference call and will be archived for one year.
First Quarter Fiscal 2015 Cash Dividend
The Company announced today that its Board of Directors has approved the payment of a quarterly cash dividend. The quarterly cash dividend of $0.06 per share will be paid on April 20, 2015, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on April 6, 2015.
Future declarations of dividends are subject to approval of the Board of Directors and will depend on the Company's results of operations, financial condition, business conditions and other factors deemed relevant by the Board of Directors.
Record Date and Date of Annual Shareholder Meeting
The Company also announced that April 10, 2015 has been set as the shareholder of record date and the Annual Meeting of Shareholders will be held on June 11, 2015.
About Shoe Carnival
Shoe Carnival, Inc. is one of the nation's largest family footwear retailers, offering a broad assortment of moderately priced dress, casual and athletic footwear for men, women and children with emphasis on national and regional name brands. As of March 17, 2015, the Company operates 404 stores in 33 states and Puerto Rico, and offers online shopping at www.shoecarnival.com. Headquartered in Evansville, IN, Shoe Carnival trades on The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC under the symbol SCVL. Shoe Carnival's press releases and annual report are available on the Company's website at www.shoecarnival.com.
Source: Shoe