Ascena Q4 profit misses

Ascena Retail Group Inc., which operates apparel stores under the Ann Taylor, Loft, Lane Bryant and other banners, on Monday reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings worse than Wall Street expected and also gave weaker-than-expected guidance for fiscal 2017.



The parent company of Lane Bryant, Ann, Justice and other apparel banners reported net income of $13.8 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier.



The company posted revenue of $1.81 billion in the period, topping Street forecasts. Same-store sales fell 4%.



“Fiscal 2016 was a challenging year for Ascena, characterized by a highly competitive selling environment and significant store traffic headwinds,” said CEO David Jaffe. “While we are seeing good customer demand during peak periods, off-peak demand has been inconsistent, and fourth quarter financial performance fell well below our expectations."



For the year, the company reported that its loss narrowed to $11.9 million. Revenue was reported as $7 billion.



The retailer said it expects full-year fiscal 2017 earnings in the range of 60 cents to 65 cents a share. Revenue is expected in the range of $6.9 billion to $7 billion. Analysts had been looking for a profit of 83 cents per share on revenue of $7.17 billion,



Looking back on the full year, Jaffe said the chain has made progress in four key areas of its business that bodes well for future growth.



“First, we were pleased by the Justice turnaround,” he said. “The Justice team delivered full-year operating margin in the middle of the guidance range we provided last September. Second, our integration of Ann continues to progress well, and we remain ahead of plan with our synergy and cost savings workstreams. Third, the new Ascena omnichannel platform went live at Justice in the fourth quarter, and the early reads on demand growth have significantly exceeded our expectations.”



Ascena retail group operates 4,900 stores throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico under the Ann Taylor, Loft, Lou & Grey, Lane Bryant, Maurices, Dressbarn, Catherines and Justice banners.