Christopher & Banks' Q3 earnings beat the Street, guides for lower Q4 and FY EPS
Christopher & Banks Corp. (NYSE: CBK) reported third-quarter earnings beat the Street by a penny; however, the company warned of a tough December and issued fourth quarter and fiscal year guidance below analysts’ projections.
For the three months ended Dec. 1, the women’s retailer recorded net income of $10.2 million, or $0.29 per diluted share, a penny above the Thomson Financial mean estimate of $0.28 per share. For the third quarter last year, the small cap earned $9.2 million, or $0.24 per diluted share.
Total sales were $160 million, compared with $139.3 million for the same quarter last year. Analysts expected revenue of $160.7 million.
Same-store sales for the thirteen-week period ended Dec. 1, 2007 increased 9% over the comparable period of 2006.
While the third quarter clocked in robust, the retailer warned fourth quarter and fiscal year earnings would be weaker in light of softer December sales, as a promotional retail environment, challenging macroeconomic conditions and snow and ice storms in several geographic regions struck the company.
As a result, the company currently anticipates fourth-quarter earnings per diluted share to be in the range of $0.02 to $0.05, below the $0.07 10 analysts polled by Thomson Financial were on average anticipating. This compares to fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 earnings per diluted share of $0.05.
The company said its guidance also reflects expectations for flat to a low single digit decline in same-store sales in the fourth quarter.
Additionally, Christopher & Banks said it anticipates December same-store sales to fall short of initial expectations and are anticipated to decline 1% to 2%. As a result, the firm said it plans to maintain lean inventory levels.
For the year, the company estimates earnings per diluted share to be in the range of $0.72 to $0.75, compared with $0.89 per share last year. The guidance range was also below the $0.77 that 10 analysts polled by Thomson Financial were on average forecasting.
Shares of Christopher & Banks (CBK) toppled $1.42, or 10.99%, to $11.50 at 11:44 a.m. ET. Shares of Christopher & Banks have been trading in the range of $11.35 to $21.17 for the past 52 weeks.
