Express misses by $0.04, misses on revs; guides Q3 EPS below consensus; lowers FY17 guidance below consensus :
- Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.13 per share, $0.04 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.17; revenues fell 5.8% year/year to $504.8 mln vs the $520.81 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
- Comparable sales (including e-commerce sales) decreased 8% vs. guidance for a mid single digit decline, compared to a 7% increase in the second quarter of 2015. E-commerce sales declined 7% to $70.1 million.
- Total inventory was down 6% with retail inventory down 9%.
- Merchandise margin declined by 200 basis points driven by increased markdowns on clearance items as we focused on positioning our inventory for the fall season. Buying and occupancy as a percentage of net sales rose by 120 basis points. In combination, this resulted in a 320 basis point decline in gross margin, representing 29.9% of net sales compared to 33.1% in last year's second quarter.
- Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.09-0.15 vs. $0.32 Capital IQ Consensus; comps negative high single to low double digits.
- Co issues downside guidance for FY17, lowers EPS to $1.00-1.14 from $1.41-1.54, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.46 Capital IQ Consensus; lowers comps to negative high single digits from low to mid single digits.
- "I am disappointed with our second quarter performance as sales and earnings were below our guidance, reflecting challenging store traffic. This was compounded by a lack of clarity across the assortment. We believe we have identified the necessary actions to position Express to regain momentum and we are moving on them. Our fall assortment is more cohesive across our wearing occasions, clearly identifying the important trends, and we are aggressively pursuing several marketing initiatives focused on driving new customer acquisition and retention. In addition, we are pleased with our overall inventory position as we begin the fall season."
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