US retailer J. Jill posts net sales growth of 29.4% in Q3 FY21

The reported quarter’s gross profit was $104.5 million as compared to $69 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 while the gross margin grew to 68.9 per cent compared to 58.9 per cent in the third quarter of fiscal 2020. This year-over-year gross margin increase was driven by strong full price selling and reduced promotions, which more than offset approximately 200bps of freight expense due to supply chain disruption.

The income from operations of the quarter reached to $19 million compared to a loss of $24.1 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 while the net income reached $11.2 million compared to net loss of $23.2 million in the same period of fiscal 2020. The net Income per Diluted Share was $0.79 compared to a net loss of $2.52 in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 including the impact of non-recurring items.

“We are pleased with our third quarter performance and are encouraged by the ongoing customer response to our product at full price. These results reflect our continued recovery as we’ve made progress implementing our strategic initiatives resulting in healthy gross margin expansion and significant year-over-year improvement in adjusted EBITDA. Our focus on full price selling, improved inventory management, and the frequent flow of inspired products has further strengthened our operating model.” Claire Spofford, president and chief executive officer of J. Jill, stated in a press release.

The company ended the third quarter of fiscal 2021 with $17.5 million in cash and $35.6 million of total availability under its revolving credit agreement.

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, the company expects revenues to grow compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020. It also expects strong adjusted EBITDA growth for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 compared to the prior year, driven by full price selling and a reduction in promotions which will more than offset expected incremental freight pressures and costs related to increased store operating hours and shipping costs.

The company now expects total capital spend in fiscal 2021 to be about $6 million and expects to close approximately 20 stores in fiscal 2021.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)