Body Central plans to open 35 new stores

05 May '12

3 min read

Body Central Corp. announced financial results for the first quarter of 2012.

Highlights for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012:
• Net revenues for the quarter increased 11.8% to $82.7 million, compared to $74.0 million for the first quarter of 2011.

• Store sales rose 12.0% to $70.9 million due to net store unit growth of 13.6%, offset by a comparable-store sales decrease of 1.4%.

• Direct sales rose by 10.1% to $11.7 million from $10.7 million from the first quarter of 2011.

• Income from operations increased 8.0% to $9.5 million as compared to $8.8 million in the first quarter of 2011. Income from operations as a percentage of net revenues decreased to 11.5% from 11.9% due to a lower gross margin rate in the first quarter of 2012.

• Net income was $5.9 million, or $0.36 per diluted share based on 16.4 million weighted average shares outstanding as compared to net income of $5.4 million, or $0.34 per diluted share based on 16.1 million weighted average shares outstanding for the first quarter of 2011.

• The Company opened 4 new stores and closed 2 during the first quarter and operated 243 stores as of March 31, 2012.

Allen Weinstein, Body Central's President and CEO, stated: "First quarter sales and earnings came in as expected. We are on track to open at least 35 stores in 2012. New stores and direct sales are outperforming our plan for volume and profitability. However, we continue to see softness in overall store sales trends through April.

“We are closely monitoring our inventory levels and content. In addition, we are expanding the use of our test and reorder process. We believe that our sales performance will improve as we transition into the back-to-school and fall seasons."

Balance Sheet highlights as of March 31, 2012:
Cash and cash equivalents were $44.5 million at the end of the first quarter compared to $25.1 million in the prior year.

The Company continues to have no long-term debt.

Inventories at the end of the first quarter were $22.5 million compared to $19.5 million at the end of the first quarter of 2011. Due to Easter occurring two weeks earlier in April, average store inventories included more seasonal merchandise and were up 4.9% compared to the end of first quarter 2011.

Reported results are preliminary and remain subject to adjustment until the filing of our Form 10-Q with the SEC.

Outlook
For the second quarter of fiscal 2012, the Company expects net revenues in the range of $80 million to $82 million, comparable sales to decrease in a range of 5 to 7 percent and diluted earnings per share in the range of $0.26 to $0.28, based on diluted weighted-average shares outstanding of 16.4 million.

For the full fiscal year, the Company now expects net revenues in the range of $333 million to $337 million, comparable sales to decrease in a range of 1 to 3 percent and diluted earnings per share in the range of $1.34 to $1.38, based on diluted weighted-average shares outstanding of 16.4 million.

Founded in 1972, Body Central Corp. is a growing, multi-channel, specialty retailer offering on-trend, quality apparel and accessories at value prices.

Body Central Corp

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