Dillard's Quarterly Profit Doubles
Dillard's said Thursday its fourth-quarter profits more than doubled, beating Wall Street's expectations, thanks to an improvement in gross margins in the holiday selling season.
The department store chain earned $108.6 million, or $1.30 a share, for the quarter, up from $51.2 million, or 61 cents a share, logged in the same quarter last year.
Excluding a gain from the sale of its credit-card business and an impairment charge, earnings came in at 76 cents a share, exceeding Wall Street's estimate that called for earnings of 73 cents a share, according to consensus estimates reported by Thomson First Call.
Sales were flat for the quarter compared to last year, at $2.3 billion, and same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, were also flat. Total revenue gained 2% to $2.42 billion from $2.37 billion a year earlier.
The company's gross margin rate improved by 140 basis points, with initial price markups and fewer markdowns, and its interest and debt expense declined by $12.6 million.
As of Jan. 29, Dillard's operated 329 stores spanning 29 states. Its shares were recently up 42 cents, or 1.8%, to $24.17.