-=The Children's Place (PLCE) reported earnings on Wed 21 Aug 2019 (b/o)

The Children's Place beats by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q3 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus; guides FY20 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus 

Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.19 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the S&P Capital IQ Consensus of $0.18; revenues fell 6.3% year/year to $420.5 mln vs the $428.28 mln S&P Capital IQ Consensus.

• comparable retail sales decrease of 3.8%
• Adjusted gross profit was $138.8 million in the three months ended August 3, 2019, compared to $154.8 million in the comparable period last year, and deleveraged 150 basis points to 33.0% of net sales, primarily as a result of the deleverage of fixed expenses resulting from the decline in comparable retail sales, and increased penetration of our ecommerce business, which operates at a lower gross margin rate. Merchandise margins decreased modestly, primarily as a result of traffic remaining difficult, which led to elevated promotional activity across the sector.

Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $2.90-3.05, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $3.50 S&P Capital IQ Consensus; sees Q3 revs of $530-535 mln vs. $535.13 mln S&P Capital IQ Consensus.

Co issues downside guidance for FY20, sees EPS of $5.40-5.75, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $6.17 S&P Capital IQ Consensus; sees FY20 revs of $1.91-1.925 bln vs. $1.94 bln S&P Capital IQ Consensus.