Loss widens at Destination Maternity

Destination Maternity Corp. saw its loss widen in the fourth quarter and the full year amid declining same-store sales and its exit from several businesses.



The maternity clothing retailer reported a loss $32.8 million, which included a $27.8 million non-cash income tax charge. Its adjusted net loss was $3.2 million, compared to an adjusted net loss of $1.5 million in the year-ago period.



Revenue totaled $100.2 million in the period. Same-store sales fell 7.8%.



For the year, the company reported that its loss widened to $32.8 million. Adjusted net loss was $1.9 million, compared to adjusted net loss of $0.2 million last year.



Revenue was reported as $433.7 million. Same-store sales decreased 5.3%.



"In a challenging year that saw several headwinds pressure sales, we achieved increased adjusted EBITDA before other charges reflecting improvement in gross profit margin and a reduction in expenses,” said Anthony M. Romano, CEO and president. “While the year included several headwinds, including business exits from Sears and Gordmans, certain Macy's store closures, Kohl's business wind down, mall traffic declines, and cancelled fourth quarter orders due to the Hanjin bankruptcy, we continued to advance our key strategies.”



In December, Destination Maternity and Orchestra-Prémaman announced that they entered into a definitive agreement to merge, which will create a leading global provider of maternity apparel, children's wear and baby hard goods. The combined company is expected to have revenues of approximately $1.1 billion.



“We remain confident that with the completion of our merger with Orchestra-Prémaman, we will begin to benefit from both the groundwork we laid in 2016 and the synergies we will experience with our new partners,” said Romano. “We expect these efforts to enable us to deliver improved operating performance in fiscal 2017 and beyond."