Marginal change in New York & Company Q1 FY'13 sales

Comparable store sales for the first quarter of fiscal year 2013 decreased 2.0%, as compared to a decrease of 2.9% in the prior year’s first quarter.

Operating income for the first quarter of fiscal year 2013 was $1.2 million, reflecting an improvement from the prior year’s first quarter operating loss of $0.1 million and three consecutive years of first quarter earnings improvement, resulting in positive earnings for the period.

Net income for the first quarter of fiscal year 2013 was $1.6 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, and included a $0.6 million income tax benefit related to the reversal of an uncertain tax position. This compares to the prior year’s net loss of $0.2 million, or breakeven per diluted share. The Company’s income tax provision reflects the continuing impact of its deferred tax valuation allowance.

Gregory Scott, New York & Company’s CEO, stated: “We are pleased to report a profitable first quarter. Our results mark the third consecutive year in which we have delivered an improved operating performance in the first quarter, despite a slow start to the season. As we progressed through the quarter, our team immediately addressed a difficult business trend by capitalizing on product opportunities and introducing traffic generating events.

"This led to an improvement in sales as the quarter progressed and produced expansion in gross profit and operating income, which exceeded our guidance. We were particularly pleased with our customers’ response to our Easter event and the pre-Mother’s Day selling period and we saw continued strength in our wear-to-work category, along with momentum in denim.

"We are making progress on our six keys to success and expect that the implementation of our targeted strategies will allow us to deliver another year of operating performance improvement in fiscal 2013.”

New York & Company