Caleres profit dips 1%, maintains 2017 earnings guidance

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
Nov 22, 2017

US fashion and accessories retailer Caleres has blamed unseasonably warmer weather in October and hurricanes in September for a lacklustre third quarter earnings result. 

The Saint Louis-based company said its profit came in at $34.39 million, or $0.80 per share. This was lower than $34.73 million, or $0.81 per share, in last year's third quarter.

Analysts had expected the company to earn $0.85 per share, according figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Caleres' revenue for the quarter rose 5.8% to $774.66 million. This was up from $732.23 million last year, while sales for the first nine-months of the year reached $2,083.1 million, up 7.4%.

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Overall, third quarter sales were negatively impacted by approximately $35 million, due to the hurricanes in Texas and Florida and the delayed start to the fall boot season.

“Our strong start to the third quarter in August was interrupted by hurricanes in September and an unseasonably warm start to fall in October. Even though the quarter became progressively more challenging, we delivered improvement in gross margin and generated strong cash flow, while paying down our revolver borrowings,” said Diane Sullivan, CEO, president and chairman of Caleres.

However, the Caleres CEO maintained the company's earnings guidance for 2017.

“While weather-related events had a negative impact to topline sales of approximately $35 million, sales have improved in November, as more seasonal weather arrived. As a result, we are maintaining our fiscal 2017 adjusted EPS guidance.”

By brand category, Famous Footwear sales reached $473.1 million, up 1.1%, while back-to-school same-store-sales were up 2.6% and third quarter same-store-sales were up 0.9%. 

Brand Portfolio sales totalled $301.5 million, up 14%, including a contribution from Allen Edmonds, which was acquired in December of 2016.

Other fashion and accessories brands operated by Caleres include Sam Edelman, Franco Sarto, Vince, Via Spiga, George Brown Bilt, Diane von Furstenberg, Fergie Footwear and Carlos Santana.