Bed Bath & Beyond’s Q4 finishes strong

After three quarters of missing analyst estimates, Bed Bath & Beyond’s fourth quarter ended on a high note, and beat expectations.

For the quarter ended February 25, 2017, the specialty retailer reported net sales of approximately $3.5 billion, an increase of about 3.4% from approximately $3.4 billion reported in the fiscal 2015 fourth quarter. The chain’s quarterly earnings of $1.84 per share declined by a marginal 0.5% year over year, but still beat analyst estimates of $1.77.



Consolidated comparable sales in the fiscal 2016 fourth quarter increased by approximately 0.4%, compared with a 1.7% lift in last year's fiscal fourth quarter. Comparable sales from customer-facing digital channels grew in excess of 20%, while comparable sales from stores declined in the low single-digit percentage range during the fiscal 2016 fourth quarter.



During the fourth quarter, Bed Bath & Beyond repurchased approximately $171 million of its common stock, representing approximately 4.1 million shares, under its existing $2.5 billion share repurchase program. As of February 25, 2017, the program had a remaining balance of approximately $1.7 billion, and is expected to be completed sometime in fiscal 2020, the chain reported.



For 2016, the retailer reported net sales of approximately $12.2 billion, an increase of about 0.9% from $12.1 billion in fiscal 2015.



Comparable sales for the fiscal full year decreased by approximately 0.6% for the year compared with an increase of about 1.0% in fiscal 2015. Comparable sales from customer-facing digital channels grew in excess of 20% while comparable sales from stores declined in the low single-digit percentage range for the fiscal full year.



"During fiscal 2016, we made significant investments to evolve our company and advance our mission to be trusted by our customers as the expert for the home and 'heart-related' life events by continuing to build and deliver a strong foundation of differentiated products, services and solutions for customers, while driving operational excellence,” said Steven Temares, CEO and member of the Board of Directors of Bed Bath & Beyond.



As a reflection of the long-term health of the business, and commitment to creating shareholder value, the company's Board of Directors declared an increase in the quarterly dividend to $.15 per share. The increased quarterly dividend is payable on July 18, 2017 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 16, 2017.



Despite ending the fourth quarter and year on a high note, Bed Bath & Beyond is modeling a decline in net earnings per diluted share in the percentage range of low-single digits to 10% for fiscal 2017.