JOEZ - Now at $1.63 in pre-market, and it appears to be just getting cranked up again. Could this be another True Religion?
Joe’s Jeans Reports 23% Increase in Net Sales for the 1st Quarter of Fiscal 2012
LOS ANGELES, Apr 12, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Joe’s Jeans Inc. (the “Company”) /quotes/zigman/108198/quotes/nls/joez JOEZ +29.03% today announced financial results for the first quarter ended February 29, 2012. Highlights were:
-- Consolidated first quarter net sales increased 23% to $26.0 million;
-- Retail store net sales increased 40%;
-- Retail same store sales increased 22%;
-- Wholesale net sales increased 19%; and
-- Operating income increased 244% to $1.8 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2012.
For the first quarter of fiscal 2012, overall net sales were $26.0 million compared to $21.2 million from the prior year comparative period, or a 23% increase. Our overall gross profit for the quarter increased to $13.1 million from $10.4 million in the prior year comparative period, or a 26% increase. Our overall gross margin in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 was 50% compared to 49% in the prior year first quarter. Operating expense in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 was $11.3 million compared to $9.9 million in the prior year period. Operating expenses increased primarily as a result of operating four more retail stores this period than the year ago period and an increase in advertising expenses. We generated operating income of $1.8 million compared to $523,000 in the prior year comparative period and fully diluted earnings per share of $0.01 for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 compared to earnings per share of $0.00 in same period a year ago.
Marc Crossman, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are extremely pleased with our results for the quarter. The healthy increase in consolidated sales is indicative of two trends that we started seeing in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011. First, our wholesale business has not only stabilized, but is growing across all channels. Second, our retail strategy continues to provide material diversification to our revenue base, now representing 20% of our revenue for the quarter.” Crossman continued, “Because we generated healthy increases in both retail and wholesale sales while maintaining expenses, this translated into strong growth in our operating income.”
Retail
Net sales from our retail segment in the first quarter increased 40% to $5.2 million compared to $3.7 million in the prior year comparative period. The growth in retail sales was driven by revenue contribution from growing our store base from 18 to 22 stores in the comparative periods and a 22% same store sales increase. Gross margins for our retail segment increased to 70% from 68% in the year ago period. Retail operating expense increased as a result of additional expenses associated with expanding our store base compared to the prior year period. Overall, for the first quarter, we had operating income of $253,000 compared to an operating loss of $119,000 a year ago for our retail segment.
Mr. Crossman commented, “Our retail stores posted same store sales gains that had a significant contribution to our growth. In particular, we are pleased with the same store sales gains at our full price stores, which increased by over 70%. With the first half of our second quarter underway, we are continuing to see solid same store sales growth in our stores.”
Wholesale
Net sales for our wholesale segment in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 increased by 19% to $20.8 million from $17.5 million in the prior year period. Sales gains came from both our men and women’s sales channels and the addition of sales attributable to our new brand else™. Gross margins for our wholesale segment were 46% for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 compared to 45% in the prior year comparable quarter. For the first quarter, wholesale operating expense increased by $375,000 to $3.8 million from $3.5 million a year ago. As a result of our improved sales and gross margin, our wholesale operating income increased by $1.2 million to $5.7 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 compared to $4.4 million in the prior year comparative period.
Mr. Crossman commented, “Our efforts during the past few quarters in revamping our core line, creating new, unique fashion items in innovative fabrics, prints and colors, and investing in advertising have had positive results on our sales.” Crossman continued, “Finally, our else™ brand, which we only commenced shipping in February, contributed to our top line growth and we are pleased with the addition of this brand into our portfolio.”
Corporate and Other
For the first quarter of fiscal 2012, our corporate and other expenses were $4.1 million compared to $3.8 million in the first quarter a year ago. Corporate and other expenses increased due to advertising commitments for our “55 Colors” ad campaign that we launched in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011.
The Company will host a conference call on Thursday, April 12, 2012 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time with the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Marc Crossman, and its Chief Financial Officer, Hamish Sandhu, to discuss financial results for the first quarter ended February 29, 2012.
To access the live call, please dial (866) 700-5192 (U.S.) or (617) 213-8833 (International). The conference ID number and participant passcode is 81762443 and is entitled the “Q1 2012 Joe’s Jeans Inc. Earnings Conference Call.” The information provided on the teleconference is only accurate at the time of the conference call, and the Company will take no responsibility for providing updated information. A telephone replay of the conference call will be available beginning at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time on April 12, 2012 until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on April 18, 2012 by dialing (888) 286-8010 (U.S.) or (617) 801-6888 (international) and using the conference passcode 92695462. In addition, the conference call will be archived for two weeks on the Company’s website at www.joesjeans.com . |
