CBK reports Q1 diluted EPS of $0.05 & extends credit facility

01 Jul '11

4 min read

Christopher & Banks Corporation, a specialty women's apparel retailer, reported results for the 2012 fiscal first quarter ended May 28, 2011. The Company also announced that it completed an amendment to its existing $50 million credit facility that extends the facility's maturity to June 30, 2014.

Results for the First Quarter Ended May 28, 2011

• Total net sales were $123.8 million, as compared to $126.2 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2011. Same store sales decreased 2% in the first quarter of fiscal 2012.
• Gross profit was $43.0 million for the quarter, as compared to $53.4 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2011. Gross margin was 34.7% for the first quarter of fiscal 2012, as compared to 42.3% in the first quarter of fiscal 2011.
• Operating income totaled $2.0 million, or 1.6% of sales, as compared to operating income of $10.6 million, or 8.4% of sales, in the same period last year.
• Net income for the quarter totaled $1.9 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, reflecting an effective tax rate of 8.7%, which is significantly lower than the statutory rate due to the Company's recognition of a full valuation allowance against its deferred tax assets in the third quarter of fiscal 2011. The lower tax rate benefited diluted earnings per share by approximately $0.02 in the first quarter of fiscal 2012. Net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2011 totaled $6.3 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, including an effective tax rate of 41.1%.

Larry Barenbaum, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “During the first quarter, we continued to make progress on our key initiatives to improve the business. A modest selection of new product reflecting our updated styling was delivered in May and demonstrated stronger sell-through than we have seen during the past several seasons, and we are encouraged that we are on the right track with our merchandise initiatives.

"We remain extremely focused on evolving our merchandising strategy to update our assortment to better align with our customers' tastes, which will be fully reflected in our fall deliveries. In addition, we have initiatives under way to strengthen our marketing efforts and enhance our in-store experience. While near term we expect the competitive environment to remain promotional, we remain confident that we are moving the Company in a direction that will lead to improved sales and profitability over the long term.”

First Quarter Balance Sheet Highlights and Capital Expenditures

The Company ended the first quarter of fiscal 2012 with total cash, cash-equivalents and investments of $101.3 million. Inventory, excluding e-Commerce inventory, was flat on a per-store basis at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2012, as compared to the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2011. The Company's balance sheet remains strong and management believes that its cash, cash-equivalents and investments are sufficient to meet the Company's liquidity needs for the current fiscal year. Capital expenditures totaled approximately $3.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 as the Company opened eight outlet stores and six dual stores during the quarter.

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