Christopher & Banks slips into Q2FY16 net loss

14 Sep '15

3 min read

In the thirteen week period ended August 1, 2015, NYSE listed Christopher & Banks, a specialty women's apparel retailer slipped in to a loss vis-à-vis profit in the same period of the previous fiscal.

A company press release stated that net loss totaled $0.7 million or $0.02 per share as against net income for the thirteen weeks ended August 2, 2014 of $3.4 million or $0.09 per diluted share.

In the second quarter of fiscal 2016, net sales amounted to $94.0 million, down from $106.6 million for the three months to August 2, 2014.

During the quarter, the retailer added that it operated an average of 4.4 per cent fewer stores than during the comparable period last fiscal.

“This reflects our MPW store conversion strategy; offset to some extent by new store openings, primarily outlets,” the company explained.

Same-store sales declined 12.4 per cent in the reporting quarter as against a 4.7 per cent same-store sales increase in last fiscal's second quarter.

Gross margin for the second quarter of fiscal 2016 stood at 32.9 per cent down from 35.3 per cent in the in the second quarter of fiscal 2015.

“Operating loss for the quarter under review was $1.7 million for the quarter under review as against operating income of $3.3 million in the prior fiscal's second quarter,” it explained.

Cash, cash-equivalents and investments totaled $34.5 million as of August 1, 2015, while inventory per square foot, excluding in-transit and ecommerce inventory rose around 2.7 per cent over the earlier fiscal's same period.

As of August 1, 2015, the company had no outstanding borrowings under its revolving credit facility and capital expenditures totaled approximately $9.7 million.

For the third quarter of fiscal 2016, the company expects total net sales of between $101 million and $105 million, as compared to net sales of $110.6 million in last fiscal's third quarter.

It has also projected gross margin to be 320 to 400 basis points lower than the third quarter of fiscal 2015, driven primarily by deleverage of buying and occupancy of 230 to 300 basis points.

SG&A is expected to be between approximately $34.3 million and $34.8 million compared to the $31.5 million of SG&A expense.

CEO LuAnn Via said, "Our disappointing second quarter performance reflects a combination of both macro headwinds, as well as company-specific factors, particularly in late June and in the month of July.”

“We have taken immediate action in a number of areas to address certain merchandising missteps and have seen trends in the business improve somewhat since July,” she added.

“However, much of the benefit from these initiatives is expected to drive improved sales for holiday 2015 and Spring 2016,” Via informed. (AR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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