Children's Place clocks 5% sales rise in Q2 FY'12

The timing and actual number of shares repurchased under the program will depend on a variety of factors including price, corporate and regulatory requirements, and other market and business conditions. The Company may suspend or discontinue the program at any time, and may thereafter reinstitute purchases, all without prior announcement.

Outlook

The Company updated its earnings guidance for fiscal 2012 and now projects that non-GAAP adjusted earnings per diluted share will be between $3.20 and $3.30, compared to its previous guidance of $3.15 to $3.30, assuming positive low-single digit comparable retail sales.

The Company provided initial guidance for the third quarter of 2012, and is forecasting non-GAAP adjusted earnings per diluted share between $1.53 and $1.58, assuming positive low-single digit comparable retail sales.

This earnings guidance assumes that currency exchange rates will remain consistent with today's rates, and does not include the impact of further potential share repurchases.

Consolidating US Distribution Centers

The Company plans to consolidate into a single US distribution center in the Southeast in order to more effectively manage its inventory and optimize capacity.

Its Southeast distribution center, located in Fort Payne, Alabama, is the Company's newest, largest and most efficient facility. The Company plans to cease operations in its Northeast distribution center located in Dayton, NJ effective December 31, 2012.

The closure of the Northeast distribution center is expected to result in annual savings in excess of $4 million. This will result in charges of approximately $5 million in the third quarter and $11 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, which are excluded from non-GAAP adjusted earnings per share guidance for those periods.

Children's Place Retail Stores Inc