=Ascena Retail Group (ASNA) reported earnings on Mon 4 June 2018 (a/h)

Ascena Retail Group beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus 

• Reports Q3 (Apr) loss of $0.08 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.09); revenues fell 3.9% year/year to $1.5 bln vs the $1.47 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Co reported net sales for the third quarter of Fiscal 2018 were $1,503.3 million compared to $1,565.1 million in the year-ago period, with the decline caused primarily by a 3% decline in comparable sales
  • The co had previously guided for Q3 comps of down 3-5%
  • Gross margin declined to $883 million, or 58.7% of sales, for Q3 of Fiscal 2018 compared to $948 million, or 60.6% of sales in the year-ago period, vs. gross margin 59.7-60.2% guidance
• Co issues upside guidance for Q4, sees Q4 EPS of ($0.05) to $0.05, excluding non-recurring items, vs. ($0.14); sees revs of $1.62-1.66 bln vs. $1.58 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate
• Co also sees comparable sales in the range of flat to up 2%; Gross margin rate in the range of 56.5% to 57.0%