Express Q3 net sales improve 2 percent

For its third quarter, Express, Inc. net sales increased 2 percent to 515 million dollars, while there was no improvement in comparable sales including e-commerce sales. E-commerce sales increased 26 percent to 149.1 million dollars and on a comparable e-commerce sales increased 23 percent. Gross margin improved 70 basis points to 30.7 percent of net sales compared to 30 percent in last year's third quarter, while net income was 8 million dollars or 11 cents per diluted share compared to 6 million dollars or 0.08 cents per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2017.

Commenting on the third quarter results, David Kornberg, the company’s President and CEO said in a statement: “Our third quarter performance was in line with our guidance. We entered the holiday season positioned to succeed with increased newness as compared to last year. However, sales to date in November have been below our expectations. The apparel specialty retail environment continues to be highly promotional and our traffic has been challenging. While the majority of the quarter is still in front of us, we are revising our guidance to reflect a more cautious stance given recent unexpected sales trends.”

For the fourth quarter, Express expects comparable sales to decrease between 5 to 7 percent, net income to range between 8 to 14 million dollars and diluted EPS between 11 cents to 20 cents. For the full year, the company projects comparable sales decline of 1 to 2 percent, net income in the range of 18.5 to 24.5 million dollars and diluted EPS between 25 to 33 cents.

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