=The Children's Place (PLCE) reported earnings on Wed 8 March 17 (b/o)

The Children's Place beats by $0.29, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 EPS in-line; guides FY18 EPS above consensus; announces new buyback and dividend increase :

• Reports Q4 (Jan) earnings of $1.88 per share, $0.29 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.59; revenues rose 4.5% year/year to $520.8 mln vs the $522.13 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Comparable retail sales increased 6.9% in the fourth quarter of 2016, on top of a positive 6.7% comp in the fourth quarter of 2015.
• Co issues in-line guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $1.45-1.55, excluding an $0.08 benefit resulting from new accounting rules for the income tax impact on share-based compensation, vs. $1.52 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Co issues upside guidance for FY18, sees EPS of $6.05-6.20, excluding a $0.45 benefit resulting from new accounting rules for the income tax impact on share-based compensation, vs. $5.85 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Since our fleet optimization initiative was announced in 2013, we have closed 142 stores. Today, we are extending our fleet optimization initiative from a target of 200 closures by the end of 2017 to a minimum of 300 closures by 2020.
• Authorized a new $250 million share repurchase program and increased the quarterly dividend by 100% from $0.20 per share to $0.40 per share.