Stein Mart, Inc. Reports Third Quarter Fiscal 2017 Results

Stein Mart, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMRT) today announced financial results for the third quarter ended October 28, 2017.

Third Quarter Highlights
•Comparable store sales were down 6.9 percent for the quarter and flat for October
•Diluted loss per share was $0.31 compared to $0.24 in 2016
•Average store inventories were 20 percent lower than last year’s third quarter
•Borrowings were $29 million lower than last year’s third quarter

Net loss for the third quarter was $14.6 million or $0.31 per diluted share compared to net loss of $11.0 million or $0.24 per diluted share in 2016. For the first nine months of 2017, net loss was $23.9 million or $0.52 per diluted share compared to net income of $5.3 million or $0.11 per diluted share in the same period in 2016.

“We ended the quarter well with comparable store sales improving to flat for the month of October with slightly positive traffic. This is a reflection of the progress we have made on our sales-driving initiatives,” said Hunt Hawkins, Chief Executive Officer.

“Operating with lower inventory levels is resulting in better merchandise margins from increased regular-priced selling and lower markdowns. Now that we have moved past the disruptions of hurricanes Harvey and Irma, we expect the progress we are making with our business to be more apparent in the fourth quarter. As we continue to operate with lean inventories and reduced spending, our borrowings will be even lower by the end of the year.”

Sales
Total sales for the third quarter of 2017 decreased 4.7 percent to $285.4 million, while comparable store sales decreased 6.9 percent. Approximately one-third of the chain was directly impacted by closures or reduced hours as a result of hurricanes Harvey and Irma during the third quarter this year. For the first nine months of 2017, total sales decreased 4.2 percent to $933.8 million, while comparable store sales decreased 6.5 percent.

Gross Profit
Gross profit for the third quarter of 2017 was $68.3 million or 23.9 percent of sales compared to $72.7 million or 24.3 percent of sales in 2016. The gross profit rate was lower due to higher occupancy costs on lower sales volumes. The merchandise margin rate was higher due to reduced markdowns and better productivity.

Gross profit for the first nine months of 2017 was $228.5 million or 24.5 percent of sales compared to $271.0 million or 27.8 percent of sales in 2016. The lower gross profit rate for the first nine months reflects much higher markdowns during the first half of the year and to a lesser extent higher occupancy costs on lower sales.  Due to first half results, we now anticipate our fiscal 2017 gross profit rate will be lower than the fiscal 2016 rate with the fourth quarter 2017 rate significantly higher than the fourth quarter last year.
more detail at:  http://ir.steinmart.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1048921

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