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Q1 sales lower than anticipated at J. C. Penney
16 May '12
4 min read
J. C. Penney Company Inc. announced financial results for its fiscal quarter ended April 28, 2012. For the quarter, jcpenney reported an adjusted net loss of $55 million or $0.25 per share, excluding markdowns taken as a result of the Company's continuing efforts to reduce inventory levels to align with its new strategy, restructuring and management transition charges and non-cash qualified pension expense.
On a GAAP basis, the Company reported a net loss of $163 million or $0.75 per share. A reconciliation of non-GAAP adjusted net loss to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is included with this release.
"Sales and profitability have been tougher than anticipated during the first 13 weeks, but the transformation is ahead of schedule. Customers love the new jcp they discover in our stores. Our shop strategy has been applauded by vendor and design partners, our merchants have stepped up to the challenge of improving our merchandise and presentation, we have dramatically simplified our business model and reorganized our teams at headquarters and in our stores.
“While we have worked to do to educate the customer on our pricing strategy and to drive more traffic to our stores, we are confident in our vision to become America's favorite store. We fully expect that the bold and strategic changes we are making to our operations will result in improved profitability and sustainable growth over the long term," said Ron Johnson, chief executive officer of jcpenney.
First Quarter Results:
Comparable store sales for the first quarter declined 18.9 percent. Total sales decreased 20.1 percent, which includes the effects of the Company's exit from its outlet business. Internet sales through jcp.com were $271 million in the first quarter, decreasing 27.9 percent from last year.
Gross margin was 37.6 percent of sales, compared to 40.5 percent in the same period last year. Overall, compared to last year, gross margin was impacted by lower than expected sales in the quarter and the impact of taking deeper seasonal markdowns to clear inventory coming out of the fourth quarter of 2011.
This also includes the impact of a $53 million markdown reserve taken as a result of the Company's continuing efforts to reduce inventory levels to align with its new strategy. This reserve had a 170 basis point impact on gross margin; excluding this reserve, gross margin was 39.3 percent of sales. A reconciliation of non-GAAP adjusted gross margin to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is included with this release.
The Company's SG&A expenses decreased $121 million versus last year's first quarter. Based on the pace of its ongoing efforts to aggressively manage expenses, coupled with additional operational efficiencies that management has identified, the Company now expects savings to accelerate and exceed the run rate of approximately $900 million at the end of2012, one year earlier than it had previously announced.
On a GAAP basis, the Company reported a net loss of $163 million or $0.75 per share. A reconciliation of non-GAAP adjusted net loss to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is included with this release.
"Sales and profitability have been tougher than anticipated during the first 13 weeks, but the transformation is ahead of schedule. Customers love the new jcp they discover in our stores. Our shop strategy has been applauded by vendor and design partners, our merchants have stepped up to the challenge of improving our merchandise and presentation, we have dramatically simplified our business model and reorganized our teams at headquarters and in our stores.
“While we have worked to do to educate the customer on our pricing strategy and to drive more traffic to our stores, we are confident in our vision to become America's favorite store. We fully expect that the bold and strategic changes we are making to our operations will result in improved profitability and sustainable growth over the long term," said Ron Johnson, chief executive officer of jcpenney.
First Quarter Results:
Comparable store sales for the first quarter declined 18.9 percent. Total sales decreased 20.1 percent, which includes the effects of the Company's exit from its outlet business. Internet sales through jcp.com were $271 million in the first quarter, decreasing 27.9 percent from last year.
Gross margin was 37.6 percent of sales, compared to 40.5 percent in the same period last year. Overall, compared to last year, gross margin was impacted by lower than expected sales in the quarter and the impact of taking deeper seasonal markdowns to clear inventory coming out of the fourth quarter of 2011.
This also includes the impact of a $53 million markdown reserve taken as a result of the Company's continuing efforts to reduce inventory levels to align with its new strategy. This reserve had a 170 basis point impact on gross margin; excluding this reserve, gross margin was 39.3 percent of sales. A reconciliation of non-GAAP adjusted gross margin to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is included with this release.
The Company's SG&A expenses decreased $121 million versus last year's first quarter. Based on the pace of its ongoing efforts to aggressively manage expenses, coupled with additional operational efficiencies that management has identified, the Company now expects savings to accelerate and exceed the run rate of approximately $900 million at the end of2012, one year earlier than it had previously announced.
J. C. Penney Company Inc
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