Net income for the third quarter ended November 2, 2014 at NYSE listed Express, Inc, a specialty retail apparel chain crashed by 24 per cent from a year earlier quarter.
Net income for the third quarter of 2014 totalled to $14.6 million, or $0.17 per diluted share as against $19.3 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2013.Net income for the third quarter ended November 2, 2014 at NYSE listed Express, Inc, a specialty retail apparel chain crashed by 24 per cent from#
Net sales at the apparel retailer which operates 640 stores too fell to $497.6 million in the reporting quarter from $503.8 million in the same period of 2013, down a marginal 1 per cent.
Comparable sales during the quarter under review including e-commerce sales declined 5 per cent year on year. However, ecommerce sales rose 11 per cent to $79.1 million.
Gross margin as a percentage of net sales declined 110 basis points compared to last year's third quarter.
Merchandise margins improved by 30 basis points, with this gain offset by buying and occupancy costs which, as a percentage of sales, rose by 140 basis points from a year ago period.
“The buying and occupancy de-leverage was primarily related to the combined impact of lower sales and higher rent and depreciation expenses,” Express said.
SG&A expenses slipped marginally in the third quarter of 2014 to $126.5 million versus $128.4 million in corresponding quarter of previous year.
As a percentage of net sales, SG&A expenses fell to 25.4 per cent from 25.5 percent in the prior year third quarter.
According to Express, this improvement relates primarily to its cost cutting initiatives and continued discipline in this area.
Operating income stood at $30.5 million, or 6.1 per cent of net sales compared to $36.7 million, or 7.3 per cent of net sales in the third quarter of 2013.
Income tax expense amounted to $9.7 million, at an effective tax rate of 40.0 per cent as against $12.4 million, at an effective tax rate of 39.2 per cent in last year's third quarter.
CEO Michael Weiss noted, “Our comparable sales reflected a weakening in our store performance as the quarter progressed that was only partially offset by strength in e-commerce and outlets.”
“Our Express Factory Outlet stores delivered exceptional results and our website and mobile commerce enhancements drove strong e-commerce growth,” he added. (AR)
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
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