Hancock posts 4Q loss

BALDWYN, Miss. -- Hancock Fabrics reported that net sales for its fourth quarterwere $78.4 million compared with $77.7 million in the fourth quarter last year, and comparable-same store sales increased 0.7%, compared with a 1.3% decrease in the previous year.

Operating income for the quarter was a loss of $8.4 million, a decrease of $11.7 million compared with a $3.3 million profit in the previous year’s fourth quarter.

Net sales for the year were $275.5 million compared with $274.1 million in the previous year, and comparable-store sales were flat over the last two years.

Operating income for the year was a loss of $5 million, a decrease of $12.7 million from the previous year.

Steven Morgan, interim president and CEO since February, commented, “We incurred significant one-time non-cash charges in the fourth quarter as we took actions to improve our business. The most significant charge was related to anticipated markdowns on aged products. These markdowns have been implemented, and will allow us the scope to liquidate these aged goods quicker as we move forward and ensure we have current, relevant merchandise for our customers. I am confident that we have identified, segregated, properly priced and positioned this product to provide a great value to our customers and to better position ourselves for new products in the remainder of the year.”

During the fiscal year, the company opened one store, closed one store, remodeled twelve stores, relocated seven existing stores and ended the year with 265 stores.