Published
May 30, 2019
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J.Jill earnings plummet in first quarter

Published
May 30, 2019

Women’s apparel, accessories and footwear retailer J.Jill, Inc. announced net income of $4.4 million for the first quarter ended May 4, 2019, on Thursday, a significant decrease from the $11.3 million reported by the company in the prior-year period. Quarterly diluted earnings per share were $0.10, down from $0.26.


J.Jill reported disappointing sales and earnings in Q1 2019 - Instagram: @jjillstyle

 
The decline results in part from a 2.8% reduction in net sales, which totaled $176.5 million, compared to $181.5 million in Q1 2018.
 
Comparable sales, which take into account the Quincy, Massachusetts-based company’s comparable store and direct-to-consumer sales, decreased by 3.3%. Direct-to-consumer sales represented 41.9% of total net sales, up from 40.5% in the same period in the previous year.

The effect of this overall decrease in sales was further compounded by increases in selling, general and administrative expenses, which rose from $100.3 million in Q1 2018 to $105.4 million.
 
“We are disappointed with our first quarter performance and are taking immediate actions to clear excess inventory and position the business for improved results in the second half of the year,” said J.Jill President and CEO Linda Heasley in a release.
 
“We are early in the process of executing against our updated long-term strategies, and our new leadership team across key areas of the business is now in place and will begin to have greater impacts on the business. We are incorporating key learnings from the first quarter and will continue to assess investments in technology and process improvements to ensure the team has the tools to satisfy our core customers and capture the opportunities we see ahead for the J.Jill brand,” she added.
 
In the second quarter, J.Jill expects to report a decrease of between 1% and 3% in comparable sales, while net sales are predicted to decrease by up to 1%, remain flat or increase up to 1%.
 
In light of its results, the company also revised its full-year outlook. The retailer now expects total annual comparable sales to decrease in the range of 2% to 4%, with total net sales falling up to2%. Diluted earnings per share are expected to be between $0.17 and $0.21.
 
Following the announcement of J.Jill’s disappointing results and weak outlook, shares in the company plunged more than 52% on Thursday.

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