Last year results included a one-time fee of $1.2 million pre-tax, or $0.06 per diluted share, paid by the Company to Hampshire Equity Partners to terminate its management consulting agreement with the Company.
Fiscal 2006 Outlook
The Company is raising its fiscal 2006 earnings guidance to a range of $1.43 to $1.47 per diluted share.
This guidance is based upon an anticipated fiscal 2006 comparable store sales increase of between 7 percent and 9 percent, the opening of 41 to 42 new stores, with no closings planned, and 14.1 million diluted shares outstanding.
This store opening schedule in fiscal 2006 is expected to increase selling square footage by approximately 22 percent.
Fiscal 2007 Initial Guidance
The Company is initiating its fiscal 2007 earnings guidance at a range of $1.73 to $1.77 per diluted share.
This guidance is based upon an anticipated fiscal 2007 comparable store sales increase of between 3 percent and 4 percent, the opening of 48 to 51 new stores, with two closings planned, and 14.2 million diluted shares outstanding.
This store opening schedule in fiscal 2007 is expected to increase selling square footage by approximately 20 percent.
The Company reminds investors of the complexity of accurately assessing future growth given the difficulty in predicting fashion trends, consumer preferences and general economic conditions and the impact of other business variables.
The Company also announced that commencing with the first quarter of fiscal 2007 it will change from a monthly sales reporting cycle to a quarterly sales reporting cycle.
marketing@alchempro.com
