Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2017 Results

The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:BONT) today reported operating results for its fiscal second quarter ended July 29, 2017, and reaffirmed its earnings guidance for the full year fiscal 2017.

Results for the Second Quarter Ended July 29, 2017
•Comparable store sales decreased 6.1% as compared with the prior year period.
•Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expense decreased $20.7 million as compared with the second quarter of fiscal 2016.
•Net loss in the current year second quarter was $33.2 million, or $1.64 per share, compared with net loss of $38.7 million, or $1.95 per share, in the second quarter of fiscal 2016.
•Adjusted EBITDA totaled $9.1 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2017.  Adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter of 2016 was $2.5 million.  (As used in this release, Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure recognized under generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”)—see the accompanying financial table which reconciles this non-GAAP measure to net loss.)

William Tracy, Incoming President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We made progress in several important areas of the business during the second quarter.  We saw strength in key merchandise categories and brands and were pleased with the continued double-digit growth in our omnichannel business.  Additionally, we continued to effectively execute our profit improvement initiatives, substantially reducing our SG&A expense for the quarter.  While our results were consistent with our expectations and showed an improvement over our performance in the first quarter, we remain focused on working to better position the business for the long-term.  Looking forward, we will focus on efforts to further enhance our merchandise assortment with an emphasis on our targeted growth categories, refine our marketing strategy to increase traffic and customer engagement, and drive growth in our omnichannel business.  In addition, we expect to achieve further cost reductions through the continued rollout of our profit improvement initiative.  We believe that these actions will drive improved performance in the back half of the year.”

Comparable store sales in the second quarter of fiscal 2017 decreased 6.1%.  Total sales in the period decreased 7.0% to $504.4 million, compared with $542.4 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2016.

The Company continued its double-digit sales growth in omnichannel, which reflects sales via the Company’s website, mobile site, and its Let Us Find It customer service program, as the Company leveraged its West Jefferson facility and store-fulfillment network.

Other income in the second quarter of fiscal 2017 was $21.0 million, an increase of $4.8 million over the comparable prior year period.  The increase was primarily due to income associated with gift card breakage and, to a lesser degree, higher revenues associated with the Company’s proprietary credit card operations.  Proprietary credit card sales, as a percentage of total sales, increased approximately 40 basis points to 57.4% in the second quarter of fiscal 2017.

The gross margin rate in the second quarter of fiscal 2017 decreased approximately 100 basis points as compared with the second quarter of fiscal 2016 to 35.5% of net sales, primarily due to an increase in the markdown rate.  Gross profit decreased $18.9 million to $179.2 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2017, primarily as a result of decreased sales volume.
more detail at:  http://investors.bonton.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1037548

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