Cost Plus Likes '11 Performance

March 22, 2012  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Financial Reports on March 23, 2012 Home specialty retailer Cost Plus World Market (NASDAQ: CPWM) reported fiscal 2011 sales rose 5.2% to $963.8 million; and net income of $17.7 million, more than triple 2011.

Cost Plus had fourth-quarter net sales of $364.3 million, a 6.7 percent increase compared with the prior year. Same store sales for the fourth quarter rose 7.6 percent on top of a 7.7 percent increase for the prior-year fourth quarter. Net income for the period rose to $36.5 million, compared with $28.5 million in fourth-quarter 2010.

"Fiscal 2011 marked another year of significant progress for Cost Plus World Market," said President and CEO Barry Feld. "Growth in revenue was driven by continued improvement in customer count and our first annual increase in the average ticket since 2007. Notably, we saw acceleration in same store sales growth during the second half of fiscal 2011, culminating in a 7.6 percent comp in the fourth quarter. This momentum has continued into the first quarter of fiscal 2012, reinforcing management's view that Cost Plus World Market is uniquely positioned to capture market share in a value based economy while steadily increasing bottom line profitability."

Cost Plus provided the following outlook for the first quarter of fiscal 2012:
* Net sales in the range of $210 million to $214 million, based on a same store sales increase in the range of 6 percent to 8 percent compared with a same store sales increase of 5.5 percent for the first quarter of fiscal 2011.
* Gross profit as a percentage of net sales in the range of 31.8 percent to 31.9 percent compared with 31.7 percent for the first quarter of fiscal 2011.
* Net loss from continuing operations in the range of $1.6 million to $0.8 million, or $0.07 to $0.03 per diluted share, compared with a net loss from continuing operations of $3 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2011.

The company plans to open one new store during the first quarter of fiscal 2012, and no store closures, compared with no new stores and four store closures during the first quarter of fiscal 2011.

For fiscal 2012 Cost Plus expects:
* Net sales between $1 billion and $1.1 billion, based on a same store sales increase in the range of 5 percent to 6 percent compared to a same store sales increase of 5.4 percent for fiscal 2011. Comparable store sales for fiscal 2012 were measured on a 53 to 53 week basis, while comparable store sales for fiscal 2011 were measured on a 52 to 52 week basis.
* Gross profit as a percentage of net sales in the range of 32.6 percent to 32.7 percent compared with 32.1 percent for fiscal 2011.

Cost Plus aims to open five to 10 new stores and the outlook includes an estimate of eight new stores, including two relocations, compared with five store closures and one relocation during fiscal 2011. As of March 22, the company operated 258 stores in 30 states.