Ohio, United States - Abercrombie & Fitch Co. reported unaudited first quarter financial results that reflected a GAAP net loss of $63.2 million and net loss per diluted share of $0.91 for the thirteen weeks ended May 2, 2015, compared to a GAAP net loss of $23.7 million and net loss per diluted share of $0.32 for the thirteen weeks ended May 3, 2014.
Excluding certain charges, the Company reported an adjusted non-GAAP net loss of $37.2 million and net loss per diluted share of $0.53 for the first quarter, compared to an adjusted non-GAAP net loss of $13.0 million and net loss per diluted share of $0.17 for the first quarter last year. The year over year reduction in adjusted non-GAAP net loss per diluted share included the adverse impact of foreign currency exchange rates of approximately $0.13.
Arthur Martinez, Executive Chairman, said:
“During the quarter, the Company continued to take major strides to revitalize its brands, enhance performance, and position itself for a return to profitable growth.
This includes significant changes across our business, including augmenting our leadership team, enhancing organizational structure and efficiency, addressing core merchandise and design processes, and optimizing our store fleet by adding stores in high potential markets while closing under-performing stores. We are also moving forward on other core elements of our strategy, including investing in omnichannel capabilities. Importantly, we have focused the entire organization on putting the customer at the center of everything we do, particularly with regard to store experience and our merchandise assortment.
We knew the first quarter was going to be difficult due to a number of factors, both internal and external and, most significantly, because many of the actions we are taking to improve our business are in the early stages of implementation and have not yet been fully realized.
However, we did see sequential improvements in a number of areas during the quarter, most notably within Hollister, and our comparable sales trend has continued to improve in May. While our turnaround won’t be accomplished overnight, we believe the changes we are making will reinvigorate our iconic brands and lead to meaningful and lasting improvement.”
First Quarter Sales Results
Net sales for the first quarter decreased 14% to $709.4 million, driven by a comparable sales decline of 8% and an adverse effect from changes in foreign currency exchange rates of 6%.
Net sales for the first quarter decreased 11% to $448.9 million in the U.S. and 18% to $260.5 million internationally. Comparable sales for the first quarter decreased 7% in the U.S. and 9% internationally.
On a sequential basis, Abercrombie comparable sales declined slightly in both the U.S. and internationally, while Hollister comparable sales improved in both the U.S. and internationally, due to positive comparable sales in Asia and broad-based sequential improvement in Europe, including in the U.K.
Net sales from direct-to-consumer and omnichannel grew to approximately 23% of the total company net sales in the first quarter, compared to approximately 21% of total company net sales last year.
Additional First Quarter Results Commentary
The gross profit rate for the first quarter was 58.0%, 420 basis points lower than last year. Excluding certain charges, the gross profit rate for the first quarter was 61.8%, 70 basis points higher than last year on a constant currency basis, primarily due to lower average unit cost. Gross profit included $26.9 million of charges in the first quarter related to a write-down of the carrying value of inventory to net realizable value, primarily in the U.S., as the Company elected to accelerate the disposition of certain aged merchandise that does not reflect the Company’s prospective brand positioning. The Company expects to incur additional disposition-related charges of approximately $2 million in the second quarter in connection with this election.
Stores and distribution expense for the first quarter was $391.6 million, down from $417.6 million last year. Excluding certain charges, stores and distribution expense decreased $29.9 million, as a result of benefits from changes in foreign currency exchange rates, as well as additional expense reduction efforts identified during the quarter and the realization of expense savings on lower sales. Stores and distribution expense included $4.7 million of charges in the first quarter, primarily related to lease termination and store closure costs, as well as accelerated depreciation related to a decision to discontinue the use of certain store fixtures in connection with changes to the Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister in-store experiences, compared to $0.8 million of charges last year related to the Company’s profit improvement initiative. The Company expects to incur additional accelerated depreciation and disposal charges of approximately $2 million in the second quarter associated with the decision to discontinue the use of certain store fixtures.
In addition to accelerated depreciation charges, the Company incurred asset impairment charges of $6.1 million in the first quarter, of which $4.5 million related to the decision to discontinue the use of certain store fixtures and $1.6 million related to a further fair value adjustment on the company owned aircraft currently held for sale.
Marketing, general and administrative expense for the first quarter was $107.5 million, down from $123.6 million last year. Excluding certain charges, marketing, general and administrative expense for the first quarter decreased $8.6 million, primarily due to expense savings associated with the Company’s expense reduction efforts during the quarter. Marketing, general and administrative expense included $1.8 million of charges in the first quarter, related to the Company’s continuous profit improvement program, compared to $9.2 million of charges last year, related to the Company’s profit improvement initiative and certain corporate governance matters.
The Company recognized a restructuring benefit of $1.6 million in the first quarter, compared to a restructuring charge of $5.6 million last year, associated with the closure of the Gilly Hicks stand-alone stores.
Net other operating income was $2.0 million for the first quarter, compared to $3.6 million last year, which included insurance recoveries of $3.1 million.
The effective tax rate for the first quarter was 33.3% compared to 29.3% last year. On an adjusted non-GAAP basis, the effective tax rate for the first quarter was 34.8%.
The Company ended the quarter with $383.2 million in cash and cash equivalents, and gross borrowings under the Company’s term loan agreement of $298.5 million, compared to $357.1 million in cash and cash equivalents and $131.3 million in borrowings last year.
The Company ended the quarter with $441.0 million in inventory at cost, a decrease of 9% versus last year, which included the impact of the inventory write-down.
During the first quarter, the Company opened two international Hollister chain stores, one international Abercrombie & Fitch chain store and three U.S. Abercrombie & Fitch outlet stores. A summary of store openings and closings for the first quarter is included with the financial statement schedules following this release.
Other Developments
As previously announced, on May 21, 2015, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share on the Class A Common Stock of Abercrombie & Fitch Co., payable on June 10, 2015 to stockholders of record at the close of business on June 2, 2015.
Operating Segments
During the first quarter, the Company changed its operating segments to align with its recent transition to a branded organizational structure. This transition was substantially completed in the first quarter, and in conjunction with the change, the Company determined its operating segments to be Abercrombie (including Abercrombie & Fitch and abercrombie kids) and Hollister, which have been aggregated into one reportable segment.
Fiscal 2015 Outlook
The Company said it currently expects:
Continued headwinds from foreign currency exchange rates.
Continued sequential comparable sales improvement into the second quarter and the second half of the fiscal year.
Gross margin rate to be flat to slightly up, driven by average unit cost reductions, partially offset by adverse effects from current foreign currency exchange rates.
Operating expense now to be down year-over-year by approximately $40 million, excluding the effects related to changes in comparable sales, primarily as a result of additional expense savings identified.
That over time, the sustainable tax rate to return to the mid-to-upper 30′s, upon the recovery of the Company’s profitability within the jurisdictions in which it operates. The tax rate is expected to be elevated in Fiscal 2015 and remains highly sensitive to the earnings mix by jurisdiction, particularly at lower levels of profitability.
A weighted average diluted share count of approximately 70 million shares, excluding the effect of potential share buybacks.
Capital expenditures of approximately $150 million, which are prioritized toward new stores and store updates, as well as direct-to-consumer and IT investments to support growth initiatives.
The Company plans to open 17 full-price stores in fiscal 2015 in the key growth markets of China, Japan and the Middle East and five full price stores in North America. The Company expects to open nine new outlet stores in the U.S. In addition, the Company anticipates closing approximately 60 stores in the U.S. during the fiscal year through natural lease expirations.
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Source: Abercrombie & Fitch Co.