Stage Stores Sales Hit by Bad Weather
HOUSTON – Stage Stores, the Texas-based retailer that operates 668 stores under the names Bealls, Palais Royal and Stage in 33 states, announced second quarter net income of to $9.9 million (23 cents per share), more than doubling its income over the same time last year ($3.9 million, or 9 cents per share). The jump was tempered by the company’s second quarter sales of $359.2 million, down slightly from last year’s $362.1 million, and by disappointing same store sales, which were up only 0.5 percent compared to last year’s increase of 4.5 percent.
“Our sales results for the second quarter reflected the negative impact of the unusually heavy rains and flooding conditions that we experienced in many of our south central markets during much of June and July,” explained CEO Jim Scarborough. “Although these factors caused us to miss our sales projections for the quarter, we achieved better than anticipated gross margins due to improved inventory management practices, and maintained tight control over our expenses, both of which helped us overcome our sales shortfall and achieve earnings that were in line with our guidance of $0.23 per diluted share. When last year’s reported earnings are adjusted to exclude the non-comparable items, our year-over-year earnings gain is significant at over 53 percent.”
