Tuesday Morning posts 17.3% 1Q comps drop

DALLAS Tuesday Morning reported net sales for the first quarter of fiscal year 2009, ended Sept. 30, of $173.4 million, a decrease of 14% as compared to $201.7 million for the like period last year. Comparable-store sales dropped 17.3%, comprised of a 14% decrease in traffic and a 3.3% decrease in average ticket.

Based on the first-quarter sales results, the company expects diluted EPS for the first quarter to be in the range of a 9 cents to 11 cents drop, compared to 3 cents for the same period last year.

The company stated that business was impacted in September by Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, which hit during a major sales event, causing a loss in comparable-store sales of approximately $4.2 million and a negative effect on earnings per share of approximately 2 cents. Without the impact of the hurricanes, the company believes that earnings per share for the quarter would have been in the range of negative 7 cents to 9 cents.

"Our September direct mail event began on a positive note, but was impacted by the hurricanes as well as the unprecedented financial crisis. The latter served to impact sales for the remainder of September," stated president and ceo Kathleen Mason. "Our customer is especially cautious with discretionary spending during this time of economic uncertainty. We continue to focus on managing our inventories and keeping expenses in line with revenues."