Steven Madden posts 1Q revenue decline

LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y. Steven Madden, Ltd. today announced results for its first quarter ended March 31.

Revenue for the quarter was $100.5 million, compared to $106.7 million last year. Earnings came in at $2.8 million, or 2.8% of sales, compared with an operating income of $15.7 million, or 14.7% of sales, in the same quarter last year.

Revenue from the wholesale business was $75.6 million, compared to $82.3 million in the year prior, and retail revenues increased 2.6% to $25 million, compared to $24.4 million in 2007. Same-store sales decreased 3.7%.

During the quarter, the company opened one Steve Madden retail store and closed two.

The company is maintaining its guidance for the fiscal year and continues to expect 2008 net sales will be flat to an increase of 2%.

"We ended the quarter with $55.8 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, no debt and total stockholders' equity of $75.2 million ... We continue to position our business for future growth and remain confident in the long-term potential of the company," stated cfo Arvind Dharia.

"While our results in the first quarter continued to reflect an overall challenging macroeconomic environment, we experienced an improvement in certain areas of our business compared to the latter half of 2007," stated interim ceo Edward Rosenfeld. " ... Given the weak consumer spending trends, we were pleased with the sell-through of our merchandise. Overall, we have continued to focus on strengthening the business and our brands and we believe the company is well positioned in the current environment."