Dillard's reports 4Q loss

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Dillard’s today reported fourth quarter net income of $47.3 million or 63 cents per diluted share, compared to $155 million or $1.90 per diluted share for the quarter ended Feb. 3, 2007.

Dillard’s ceo, William Dillard, II, stated, “Clearly, our performance for the quarter and the year was disappointing. We simply did not achieve the level of sales necessary to produce more acceptable results. Moving forward, we will execute further improvements to our merchandise mix while working to effectively respond to potentially challenging macro-economic conditions. We remain committed to strengthening our appeal to aspirational and contemporary shoppers to set Dillard’s apart in the marketplace.” 

For the full year ended Feb. 2, the company reported net income of $53.8 million or 68 cents per diluted share, compared to $245.6 million or $3.05 per diluted share for the 53 weeks ended Feb. 3, 2007.

Net sales for the quarter were $2.163 billion, compared with $2.4 billion for the same period last year. Sales declined 5% in both total and comparable-stores for the comparable fourth quarter 13-week periods.