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Kirkland's Inc. reports positive first quarter results

May 30, 2008 Kirkland's net sales for the 13-week period ended May 3, 2008, increased 2.1% to $84.1 million from $82.3 million for the 13-week period ended May 5, 2007. Comparable store sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2008 increased 4.3% compared with an 18.8% comparable stores sales decrease in the first quarter of fiscal 2007. Comparable store sales in mall stores increased 9.3% for the first quarter, and comparable store sales in off-mall stores increased 2.0%. The company opened 2 stores and closed 12 stores during the quarter to end the period with 325 stores.

The company reported a net loss of $2.6 million for the 13-week period ended May 3, 2008, compared with a net loss of $7.5 million in the 13-week period ended May 5, 2007. The reported net loss for the first quarter of fiscal 2008 included no tax benefit for the period, while the reported net loss for the first quarter of fiscal 2007 included a tax benefit of $5 million.

Robert Alderson, Kirkland's president and CEO, said, "The first quarter results reflect strong merchandising execution and the benefits of aggressive financial initiatives that have reduced our operating costs, improved cash flow and strengthened our liquidity. During the quarter, we experienced improved customer conversions as shoppers have reacted very favorably to our merchandise mix. The positive comparable store sales and trimming of unproductive stores led to leveraging of occupancy and distribution costs. Combined with an improvement in merchandise margin and a year-over-year reduction in operating costs of almost $5 million, we were able to post a significant improvement in our pre-tax results.

"We are encouraged by this start to fiscal 2008 and the demonstrated benefits of our merchandising and financial initiatives. We anticipate that our sequential quarterly results will fluctuate as we progress through the year, but we are confident we will post significant year-over-year improvement in each quarter during fiscal 2008."

Posted by Susan Dickenson on May 30, 2008 | Comments (0)