HR Quarterly Round-Up: Gap, Dillard's

(Photo: AP)

Gap 4Q Profit Jumps 45%; Plans To Increase Dividend 18% (WSJ): Gap Inc.'s fiscal fourth-quarter profit grew by 45%, on strong sales at its long-struggling Old Navy chain, as the casual-apparel retailer announced plans to lift its annual dividend by 18% and launch a $1 billion stock-buyback effort.
Leaner Inventory Lifts Dillard's (Forbes): Department store operator Dillard's had a blowout day on Wall Street Monday. Shares of the Little Rock, Ark.-based company jumped nearly 20% on greatly improved year-over-year quarterly earnings, making Dillard's the second-biggest gainer on the New York Stock Exchange in March's first day of trading.

HR Quarterly Round-Up: Dillard's, Saks, Burberry

(Photo: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)

Dillard's Swings To 3Q Profit On One-Time Gain, Beats Street (WSJ): Dillard's Inc. swung to a fiscal third-quarter profit on a tax gain, but results excluding that were much better than analysts feared as the retailer continued its turnaround effort.

Saks Beats Street, Shares Up (Reuters): Upscale U.S. department store operator Saks Inc. reported a quarterly profit that beat Wall Street expectations for a loss, stoking investor hopes for a luxury market recovery and sending shares up 4.4 percent.

Burberry First-Half Profit Fell 24% But Dividend Lifted (MarketWatch): Burberry reported a 24% fall in first-half profit, with the results buffered by cost cuts and strong demand for its leather goods, but the U.K. luxury-goods group lifted its dividend 4% and expressed optimism for the future.

July Same-Store Sales Roundup

As The Four Tops sang, "It's the same ol' song..." for the U.S. retail industry.

For the 11th consecutive month, U.S retailers reported flat same-store sales, with many missing analysts' estimates. An unseasonably cool July and tax-free holidays pushed back to August, due to the Labor Day holiday falling late, were contributing factors to the decline in sales.

Although sales were down 5%, the results were on track with industry expectations and "consistent with the recent trends seen in May and June", according to Michael P. Niemira, chief economist of International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). In a telephone interview with Bloomberg, Mr. Niemera said, “Although July doesn’t look much different than June or even May, I think it will probably mark the turn in the industry towards better performance from here on out".

Apparel and Department Stores continue to be the worst performing sectors, however there were a few bright spots. Gap, Inc. and Macy's, Inc., posted better-than-expected 2nd quarter earnings, sending their shares to rise. Gap's shares saw it's biggest gain since Nov. 21. Limited Brands beat analysts' estimates, which caused shares to rise 15%, it's largest gain since Oct. 28.

Improvements in gross margin and expense reductions contributed to retailers’ ability to report second-quarter profit above estimates, according to Liz Dunn, an analyst at Thomas Weisel Partners LLC in New York. (Source: Bloomberg.com)

The S&P Retail Index rose 1.4%.



Here's the July Apparel/Dept. Store same-store sales roundup:

Limited Brands beat company and analysts' expectations, posting a 7% same-store sales decline for July. The company expects August comp. sales to decline in the high single-digits.

July same-store sales for Macy's, Inc. dropped 10.7%, above Thomson Reuter's analysts' estimates of a 9.1% decline. Total sales for July totaled $1.377B, a decline of 10.7% in comparison to sales of $1.543B for the same four week period ended in Aug. 2, 2008. Minus restructuring costs, Macy's, Inc. said it expects 2nd quarter earnings of $0.15 to $0.17 per share.

Gap Inc. posted an 8% same-store sales decline for July compared to an 11% drop in July 2008. Total sales were $924M, down 7%. Sabrina Simmons, CFO of Gap Inc., said the company expects earnings per share for the 2nd quarter to be between $0.30 and $0.32.

Dillard's comp. sales slid 12% coming above analysts' estimates of 10% declines. Total sales were down 15% for the month to $439,086,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch continues their downward spiral, with same-store sales falling 28% for July. Total sales for the month were down 22% to $236M. The company believes sales were negatively affected by a shift in the timing of tax-free holidays, and later back-to-school dates.

Nordstrom's same-store sales results dropped 6.9%, beating Wall St. estimates of a double-digit decline. Total sales slid 4.1% to $809M.

Saks slightly beat estimates, reporting a 16.3% decline in comp. sales. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters estimated a 16.6% decline. Sales for the month totaled $159.7M, a 14.9% decrease.

Same-store sales for Neiman Marcus were down 27.3% to $195M for the month. Total sales decreased 25.8% to $199M. The company reported weakness across all merchandise categories and regions.