Shoe Carnival Q4 comparable sales down 1.2 percent

Shoe Carnival reported net sales of 234.2 million dollars for the fourth quarter, a 0.2 percent increase, compared to net sales of 233.7 million dollars for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015. Comparable store sales decreased 1.2 percent.

“Our comparable stores sales performance was in-line with the updated expectations we provided in January and our gross profit margin came in better than we anticipated,” said Cliff Sifford, Shoe Carnival’s President and CEO in a media release, adding, “We believe the strong athletic footwear cycle we experienced during the year will continue into 2017 and we are pleased with the early results from our casual sandal footwear.”

FY16 net sales rose to 1.001 billion dollars

Net sales during fiscal 2016 increased 17.1 million to 1.001 billion dollars compared to 984 million dollars in fiscal 2015. Comparable store sales increased 0.5 percent. Net earnings were 23.5 million dollars or 1.28 dollars per diluted share, compared to 28.8 million dollars or 1.45 dollars per diluted share, in fiscal 2015. Adjusted net income was 25.7 million dollars or 1.40 dollars per diluted share, for fiscal 2016. The gross profit margin was 28.9 percent compared to 29.5 percent last year.

Gross profit margin for the quarter decreased to 27.5 percent compared to 29.2 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015. Net loss was 0.9 million dollars or a loss of 0.05 dollar per diluted share. Adjusted net income was 1.3 million dollars or 0.07 dollar per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 and net earnings were 4.2 million dollars or 0.21 dollar per diluted share.

The company opened 19 stores and closed nine stores during fiscal 2016 compared to opening 20 stores and closing 15 stores during fiscal 2015.

FY17 comparable sales are expected to remain flat

The company expects fiscal 2017 net sales to be in the range of 1.028 billion dollars to 1.040 billion dollars, with comparable store sales flat to up low single digits. Earnings per diluted share for the fiscal year are expected to be in the range of 1.45 dollars to 1.54 dollars compared to 1.28 dollars and adjusted earnings per diluted share were 1.40 dollars.

The company announced that its board of directors has approved the payment of a quarterly cash dividend of 0.07 dollar per share to be paid on April 24, 2017, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on April 10, 2017.

Picture:Facebook/Shoe Carnival