Pier I loss widens in Q2

Pier 1 Imports Inc. reported a wider-than-expected loss in its second quarter and forecast a smaller per-share profit for the year that analysts had expected.



Pier 1 lost $7.8 million, or 10 cents a share, compared with a loss of $4 million, or 5 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted for one-time items, the company reported a loss of 5 cents a share in the quarter.



Revenue rose 0.4% to $407.6 million, compared with $405.8 million in the same period last year. Analysts had expected a loss of 6 cents a share on sales of $407 million, and a rise of 0.7% for comparable-store sales.



Same-store sales rose 1.8% in the quarter. E-commerce sales penetration reached 27%.



Alasdair James, president and CEO, noted that the company achieved solid top-line performance and year-over-year improvement in merchandise margin in a challenging retail environment.



"However, this level of performance does not reflect our expectations for the business," he said. "We believe there is far greater potential ahead to optimize the Pier 1 Imports brand and improve our long-term profitability.”



Pier I updated its full-year outlook to "reflect the anticipated impact" of hurricanes Harvey and Irma" on the third quarter. The company expects full-year earnings in the range of 31 cents to 41 cents per share. Analysts had expected a fiscal 2018 EPS of 46 cents a share.