HINGHAM, Mass. — Talbots Inc.'s fiscal fourth-quarter loss widened on higher charges as the women's clothing chain took aggressive markdowns and promotions during the period. It provided a first-quarter revenue forecast below Wall Street's expectations.
Talbots also said late Thursday that it continues to explore its strategic options after rejecting an approximately $205.2 million buyout bid in December from a private equity firm that is its biggest shareholder.
The company said it is also continuing with its search for a new president and CEO. Current President and CEO Trudy Sullivan plans to retire as soon as a successor is named.
Its shares fell 11 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $3.02 in premarket trading.
Talbots reported a net loss of $53.3 million, or 77 cents per share, for the period ended Jan. 28, versus a loss of $2.8 million, or 4 cents per share, a year ago.
Taking out restructuring and impairment charges and other items, the company's adjusted loss from continuing operations was 52 cents per share.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet predicted a loss of 51 cents per share.
Restructuring and impairment charges both climbed from the prior-year period and selling, general and administrative expenses also grew.
Revenue dipped 1 percent to $289.4 million from $292.6 million, but beat Wall Street's estimate of $267.9 million.
Consolidated comparable sales, which includes stores, online, catalog and red-line sales, were essentially flat with a year ago. The metric excludes stores closed or set to be closed under Talbots' store rationalization plan.
Consolidated comparable sales rose 1.6 percent in December and 3.2 percent in January.
Fourth-quarter comparable store sales, which excludes stores closed or those set to close under the store rationalization plan, rose 1.9 percent.
Talbots said that it closed 47 locations under its rationalization plan during the quarter. It anticipates closing about 110 locations in total, which includes the consolidation of 15 to 20 locations, through fiscal 2013. As of the end of the fourth quarter, it operated 517 Talbots stores in 46 states and Canada.
For the year, Talbots lost $111.9 million, or $1.62 per share. In the previous year it earned $10.8 million, or 16 cents per share. Annual revenue dropped 6 percent to $1.14 billion from $1.21 billion.
Consolidated comparable sales slipped 5.6 percent, while comparable store sales dropped 5 percent.
The retailer anticipates first-quarter revenue of about $272 million. Analysts predict $282.9 million in revenue.
Talbots said its board is looking at a full range of strategic options to maximize shareholder value and will continue to pursue its long-range plan while its evaluation occurs. It has no specific date for when its evaluation will be finished.
Talbots had rejected a takeover offer from its biggest shareholder, private equity firm Sycamore Partners, in December. At that time Talbots said that the bid of $3 per share undervalued the Hingham, Mass. company. Sycamore already has a 9.9 percent stake in Talbots. The $205.2 million value of the buyout excludes the shares Sycamore already holds.
HINGHAM, Mass. — Talbots Inc., private equity firm, Talbots, Current President and CEO Trudy Sullivan, Hingham, Mass., comparable sales
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