Dillard's doubles earnings per share in Q3 FY'12

Highlights of the Company's performance included:

• A 100% increase in third quarter earnings per share compared to the prior year
• A 5% increase in comparable store sales for the third quarter
• Third quarter merchandise gross margin improvement of 40 basis points of sales
• Operating expense leverage of 140 basis points of sales for the third quarter
• Cash flow from operations of $219.9 million compared to $135.6 million for the year to date period

Third Quarter Results

Dillard's reported pretax income for the 13 weeks ended October 27, 2012 of $72.7 million, an 84% increase over the pretax income for the 13 weeks ended October 29, 2011 of $39.5 million.

Dillard's reported net income for the 13 weeks ended October 27, 2012 of $48.5 million, or $1.01 per share. Included in net income are the following items:

• A $0.7 million after tax gain ($0.01 per share) related to the sale of two former retail store locations.
• approximately $1.7 million ($0.04 per share) in tax benefit due to the reversal of a valuation allowance related to a deferred tax asset consisting of a capital loss carryforward

Dillard's reported net income for the prior year third quarter, the 13 weeks ended October 29, 2011, of $228.2 million, or $4.31 per share. Included in net income for the prior year third quarter is a net after-tax credit totaling $202.5 million ($3.83 per share) comprised of the following items:

• approximately $201.6 million ($3.81 per share) in tax benefit due to the reversal of a valuation allowance related to a deferred tax asset consisting of a capital loss carryforward
• a $0.9 million after tax gain ($0.02 per share) related to the sale of two former retail store locations

Dillard's Chief Executive Officer, William T. Dillard, II, stated, "Driven by a strong 5% sales increase, we were able to double our earnings per share for the third quarter on top of a record performance last year (after non-routine items). We are pleased with our gross margin improvement and expense control during the quarter as well as with our ending inventory level. We are entering the holiday season confidently based on these strong results and we look forward to serving our customers at the highest possible level in the coming weeks."

39-Week Results

Dillard's reported pretax income for the 39 weeks ended October 27, 2012 of $268.0 million, a 49% increase over the pretax income for the 39 weeks ended October 29, 2011 of $179.5 million.