Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR) reported its fiscal third-quarter financial results Thursday after the markets closed on Wednesday. The company had $0.13 in earnings per share (EPS) on $472.5 million in revenue. That compared to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that call for $0.12 in EPS on revenue of $494.6 million.
During the quarter, Pier 1 opened two stores, ending the period with 1,055 stores. The company expects to end fiscal 2016 with roughly 30 net store closures, with the bulk of the remaining closures expected to occur in the last week of the fourth quarter.
At the same time the company repurchased 3.3 million shares for roughly $23.9 million under its April 2014 plan.
In terms of guidance, the company expects EPS in the range of $0.42 to $0.46, below the previous guidance of $0.56 to $0.64, for the fiscal full year. Pier 1 also expects comparable sales to be flat for the year. The consensus estimates call for EPS of $0.58 and $1.90 billion in revenue for the fiscal full year.
Alex W. Smith, president and CEO, commented on earnings:
Our sales slowed in the third quarter, primarily reflecting soft store traffic. Notwithstanding, we’re pleased with store conversion – a testament to the exemplary job our store teams did in engaging with Pier 1 Imports’ customers. E-Commerce sales continued to demonstrate strong growth and represented approximately 16% of total sales in the period. Although top line results did not meet our expectations, strict expense control enabled us to deliver earnings per share within our guidance range. Additionally, we made further progress toward bringing our inventories in line, keeping us on track to close fiscal 2016 with inventory levels down approximately 10 percent from the prior year.
Shares of Pier 1 were trading down nearly 20% at $4.76 Thursday, with a consensus analyst price target of $9.28 and a 52-week trading range of $4.55 to $17.52. The stock hit a new annual low in this session.
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