Party City celebrates Q1
Party City Holdco Inc. put a big dent in its first quarter loss and maintained its full-year guidance for 2018.
The company reported a loss of $1.2 million, or 1 cent a share, for the quarter ended March 31, compared with a loss of $4.7 million, or 4 cents, for the year-ago period. Analysts expected a loss of $3.5 million. Excluding items, Party City reported an adjusted profit of 7 cents a share for the quarter, compared analysts' forecasts of 5 cents.
Revenue rose 6.5% to a better than-expected $507.8 million, from $477 million last year. Retail sales increased 7.2%, driven primarily by square footage growth from store acquisitions and a 2.4% increase in same-store sales, in part as a result of the positive timing shifts of both New Year’s Eve and Easter.
“I am pleased with the start of 2018 as both top and bottom line objectives were met, along with accelerated EPS growth,” said James M. Harrison, CEO, Party City Holdco. “The strength of our vertical model fueled gross margin expansion, while good progress was achieved against many key growth strategies.”
For 2018, the company forecast total revenue in a range of $2.44 billion-$2.49 billion, and profit between $143 million-$154 million.
Party City Holdco designs, manufactures, sources and distributes party goods, including paper and plastic tableware, metallic and latex balloons, Halloween and other costumes, accessories, novelties, gifts and stationery throughout the world. The company’s retail operations include over 900 specialty retail party supply stores (including approximately 150 franchise stores) throughout North America operating under the names Party City and Halloween City, and e-commerce websites.
The company reported a loss of $1.2 million, or 1 cent a share, for the quarter ended March 31, compared with a loss of $4.7 million, or 4 cents, for the year-ago period. Analysts expected a loss of $3.5 million. Excluding items, Party City reported an adjusted profit of 7 cents a share for the quarter, compared analysts' forecasts of 5 cents.
Revenue rose 6.5% to a better than-expected $507.8 million, from $477 million last year. Retail sales increased 7.2%, driven primarily by square footage growth from store acquisitions and a 2.4% increase in same-store sales, in part as a result of the positive timing shifts of both New Year’s Eve and Easter.
“I am pleased with the start of 2018 as both top and bottom line objectives were met, along with accelerated EPS growth,” said James M. Harrison, CEO, Party City Holdco. “The strength of our vertical model fueled gross margin expansion, while good progress was achieved against many key growth strategies.”
For 2018, the company forecast total revenue in a range of $2.44 billion-$2.49 billion, and profit between $143 million-$154 million.
Party City Holdco designs, manufactures, sources and distributes party goods, including paper and plastic tableware, metallic and latex balloons, Halloween and other costumes, accessories, novelties, gifts and stationery throughout the world. The company’s retail operations include over 900 specialty retail party supply stores (including approximately 150 franchise stores) throughout North America operating under the names Party City and Halloween City, and e-commerce websites.