Caleres first quarter sales increase 8 percent

Caleres first quarter consolidated sales of 631.5 million dollars were up 8 percent including 42.5 million dollars of Allen Edmonds sales. Famous Footwear total sales of 366.5 million dollars, increased 0.5 percent, while Famous.com sales were up 25.7 percent to 5.7 percent of sales. The company’s same-store-sales were however down 0.6 percent.

“Our first quarter results – including 8 percent sales growth and more than 50 basis points of gross margin improvement – provided a solid start to the year, despite the continued tough retail environment,” said Diane Sullivan, CEO, President and Chairman of Caleres in a media release, adding, “We are pleased with the performance of our Allen Edmonds acquisition, the success of our integration to date, and with our continued shift toward more balanced earnings contribution from both Famous Footwear and brand portfolio.”

First quarter brand portfolio sales rise 20.4 percent

Brand portfolio sales of 265 million dollars were up 20.4 percent including contribution from Allen Edmonds, which was acquired in December of 2016. The company said, organic growth was 1.1 percent and ecommerce was up 56.3 percent and represented 25.8 percent of sales.

Gross profit of 270.9 million dollars was up 9.3 percent and gross margin of 42.9 percent was up 52 basis points, while adjusted gross margin of 43.4 percent was up 100 basis points. Net earnings of 14.9 million dollars included 2.5 million dollars after-tax of expected charges related to the acquisition, integration and reorganization of men’s brands, while adjusted net earnings of 17.4 million dollars were down 2 percent. Diluted earnings per share of 0.35 dollar included 0.05 dollar of expected charges related to the acquisition, integration and reorganization of men’s brands, while adjusted diluted earnings per share were 0.40 dollar.

Caleres declares 377th consecutive quarterly dividend

The company declared 377th consecutive quarterly dividend, with 0.07 dollar per share payable on July 1, 2017, to shareholders of record as of June 17, 2017.

“We ended the quarter with cash and equivalents up 29.8 percent from the end of 2016, even as we paid down another 25 million dollars of our revolver borrowings related to our Allen Edmonds acquisition. We expect to pay off the remainder of this amount by the end of the year,” added Ken Hannah, Chief Financial Officer of Caleres.

Picture:Facebook/Famous Footwear