Sales in the first fiscal quarter ended May 2, 2015 at NYSE listed and apparel retailer Macy’s were as good as flat from the same period of previous year.
In a press release, Macy’s said its sales totaled $6.232 billion, down a marginal 0.7 per cent, compared with sales of $6.279 billion in the same period last year.Sales in the first fiscal quarter ended May 2, 2015 at NYSE listed and apparel retailer Macy's were as good as flat from the same period of previous#
Comparable sales on an owned plus licensed basis were down by 0.1 percent year over year in the first quarter of 2015 and on an owned basis, first quarter comparable sales declined by 0.7 per cent.
Macy’s operating income for the reporting quarter reached $409 million or 6.6 per cent of sales as against $443 million or 7.1 per cent of sales in the first quarter of 2014.
Macy’s reported earnings of 56 cents per diluted share for the 13-week period ended May 2, 2015 was also down compared with earnings of 60 cents per diluted share in the first quarter of 2014.
Net cash provided by operating activities was $53 million in the first quarter of 2015 as against $174 million in the first quarter last fiscal.
Net cash used by investing activities in the quarter under review was $381 million, up from $184 million in the year earlier quarter.
Macy’s net cash for financing activities used in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 touched $409 million as against $385 million from a year ago quarter.
The company repurchased approximately 5.9 million shares of its common stock for a total of $385 million in the first quarter of 2015.
Macy’s board of directors has authorised an increase in the quarterly dividend on Macy's common stock to 36 cents per share from the current 31.25 cents per share.
The new dividend will be payable July 1, 2015, to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 15, 2015.
According to Macy’s, this represents the fifth increase in dividend in the past four years. Over that period, the quarterly dividend has increased more than seven-fold from 5 cents per share to 36 cents per share.
“We had expected our first quarter sales to grow at a rate lower than our guidance for the full year. We fell short because of a confluence of factors,” said Terry Lundgren, Macy’s CEO.
“Delayed merchandise shipments from the West Coast port slowdown and severe winter weather early in the quarter restrained business levels,” Lundgren added.
“Moreover, sales were negatively affected by lower levels of spending by international tourists visiting major US cities with flagship Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores, including New York City, Chicago, etc,” he noted.
Macy’s also said that omnichannel reorganisation in its merchandising, planning and marketing organisations announced in January and February also caused some temporary disruption.
The board also has increased the company’s share repurchase authorisation by $1.5 billion. Since resuming its share repurchase program in August 2011, Macy’s had bought back 123.3 million shares for $5.7 billion till May 2, 2015. (AR)
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
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