Tween Brands Inc reported its operating results for the first quarter ended May 5, 2007.
First Quarter Performance: Tween Brands delivered net income of $12.5 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, on net sales of $223.2 million for the first quarter ended May 5, 2007, compared to net income of $11.7 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, on net sales of $195.1 million for the first quarter 2006.
Tween Brands had a comparable store sales increase of 3% for the 2007 quarter, in-line with the company's previous guidance. Justice delivered a 22% increase in comparable sales for the 102 Justice stores that were open at least one year during the quarter. Comparable sales for Limited Too stores were flat.
"In the face of difficult sales comparisons with first quarter 2006, we are pleased with the first quarter results at Limited Too and Justice," said Mike Rayden, Chairman and CEO of Tween Brands.
The company's gross income rate for the 2007 quarter was flat with that for the like period in 2006. Store operating, general and administrative expenses as a rate of sales increased 90 basis points, primarily due to the introduction of three Justice catazines, their catalog within a magazine format.
Tween Brands' in-store inventories at the end of first quarter 2007 increased 8% on a cost per square foot basis compared to the end of the first quarter 2006.
Stock Repurchase: During the first quarter 2007, Tween Brands returned $59.2 million to shareholders with the repurchase in the open market of 1.6 million shares of common stock. The dollar value of the year-to-date repurchases approximates the total dollar value of repurchases for all of 2006.
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