Williams-Sonoma Revenue Jumps 6.1% in 2nd Quarter

August 23, 2018  by Laurie Northington in Economic News, Industry   

The company, whose brands include Pottery Barn and West Elm, said it recorded comparable-brand revenue growth in all brands, including West Elm, which was up 9.5%, and Pottery Barn Kids and Teens, which was up 5.7%. Total comparable-brand growth was 4.6%.

The revenue growth was paced by its e-commerce business, where revenues were up 8.9% to $687 million and represented 53.9% of total revenues. Revenues from its brick-and-mortar retail stores rose 3.1% to $588 million and accounted for 46.1% of the total.

The company’s total operating margin slipped to 5.8% from 6.8% in last year’s second quarter, while the gross margin increased to 36.4% from 35.2% over the same time period.

“Today, we are announcing another quarter of strong results with topline growth at the high-end of guidance, gross margin significantly above last year and a substantial EPS outperformance,” said Laura Alber, president and CEO. “Our powerful multi-channel, multi-brand platform, together with our strong execution of our strategic initiatives in digital leadership, product innovation, retail transformation and operational excellence are having a positive impact on all parts of our business. Given the results in the first half and the momentum our initiatives are creating, we are raising our full-year guidance for net revenues, comp revenue growth, operating margin and EPS.”

For the first half of the fiscal year, revenues totaled $2.48 billion, up 7.4% from $2.31 billion in the first half of the previous year.

First-half profits totaled $96.9 million or $1.17 per share. That was up from $92.5 million or $1.07 per share in the first of the last fiscal year.

The company also raised its earlier revenue and earnings guidance for the fiscal year. Revenues are now projected at $5.565 billion to $5.665 billion, while adjusted earnings per share are projected at $4.26 to $4.36.