Russell C. Hammer
Analyst · the year standpoint
Thanks, Diane. Thanks, everyone, for joining us on the call and webcast this morning. We certainly appreciate it. Although Diane briefly reviewed our consolidated sales, I'd like to add a little more color. For the fourth quarter, we reported net sales of $640.2 million versus $628.9 million in the prior year. As a reminder, 2012 included a 53rd week, which increased our net sales by approximately $21 million and had an immaterial impact on earnings. Results for both the fourth quarter of 2012 and 2011 included sales of $2.8 million and $16.5 million, respectively, from brands and businesses we have exited. If we exclude these sales from both periods, net sales for ongoing businesses were up 4.8%. For the fourth quarter, we reported GAAP net earnings of $4 million or $0.09 per diluted share versus a loss of $8.2 million in the prior year or $0.21 per share. Fourth quarter 2012 results included portfolio realignment costs of $2.9 million, while the fourth quarter 2011 included portfolio realignment integration related cost of $18.5 million. On an adjusted basis, net earnings in the fourth quarter improved 43% to $5.9 million or $0.14 per diluted share compared to earnings of $4.1 million or $0.10 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2011. For the full year, net sales were $2,598,000,000 versus $2,583,000,000 in 2011. Excluding sales from exited businesses of $42.5 million and $92.5 million, respectively, resulted in sales improvement of 2.6% for 2012. GAAP net earnings for the full year were $27.5 million or $0.64 per diluted share versus $24.6 million or $0.56 in 2011. On an adjusted basis, excluding all portfolio realignment, organization change and integration related costs in both years, net earnings for 2012 were $48.6 million or $1.13 per share, up 60.4% when compared to 2011 earnings of $30.3 million or $0.70 per share. I'd now like to turn to our individual businesses, beginning with Famous Footwear, which is part of our targeted family platform. As Diane discussed, we reported record-setting fourth quarter sales with same-store sales of 4.4% on a 52-week basis. We also saw our conversion rate improved by 3.4%, while footwear AURs were up 2.1% in the quarter. These results were with 34 fewer stores year-over-year. In the fourth quarter, we closed or relocated 18 stores and opened 12. For the full year, we closed or relocated 89 stores and opened 55 stores, right on the plan we had shared with you earlier. During the quarter, all of our financial footwear regions saw reasonably significant sales increases as we improved our margin rate. Boots continue to do well in the quarter, with women's boots up more than 15% and with boots sales continuing to improve as the weather turned wintery across the country in February of 2013. Our total inventory is as current as ever in recent memory and on a per store basis, inventories were up at quarter end as we took early receipt of key spring product in January. Conversely, we saw traffic counts weaken as we moved into February, which was more challenging than in the fourth quarter. Like our peers, we continue to monitor consumer activity in the wake of tax rate changes as we settle into the sequester. Turning to our Wholesale operations for our Contemporary Fashion portfolio. Fourth quarter sales were up slightly, with especially good sales growth from our Sam Edelman and Franco Sarto brands, up 13.8% and 37.2%, respectively. For our Healthy Living brands, Wholesale sales were up 1.8% in the fourth quarter. LifeStride sales were up more than 9%, with strength in riding and wide shaft boots as well as a resurgence in dress pumps. Rykä sales were also up more than 25% in the fourth quarter. However, the strength at Rykä was not enough to offset continued weakness at Avia, which fell short of plan. Dr. Scholl's Shoes' sales for the fourth quarter were up more than 5%, as new styles continued to drive interest in the brand. All 3 of these growth brands, LifeStride, Rykä and Dr. Scholl's, made gains at mid-tier channels in the quarter. All-in Naturalizer sales were down slightly in the fourth quarter, while Naturalizer same-store sales were down 6.6% on a 52-week basis. During the quarter, Naturalizer sales to Wholesale e-commerce partners grew 12%. For Brown Shoe Company overall, online sales remained the driver of both Wholesale and retail in the fourth quarter. For the full year, Wholesale sales via our external e-commerce partners were up 35%, while our Famous.com site was up 22%. All told, our own e-commerce sites accounted for more than 5% of total sales for the full year. Now let's turn to a review of our financial metrics. Overall, gross margin in the fourth quarter was 39.3%, which was up approximately 140 basis points. SG&A as a share of our revenue was 37.3%, up approximately 70 basis points year-over-year due to the addition of the 53rd week in 2012. For the full year, gross margin was 38.9%, up 30 basis points over 2011. SG&A as a share of revenue was 35.4%, down 90 basis points year-over-year. Net interest expense of $5.9 million was up 0.4% in the quarter. For the full year, net interest was $23.1 million, down 13% as we continued to reduce our borrowings. Our corporate tax rate was 13.7% for the quarter and 29.4% for the full year. Operating cash flow at the end of 2012 came in at $197.9 million, up $149.9 million versus a year ago. Cash and cash equivalents were $68.2 million. Cash used for financing activity was higher by $118.7 million, primarily due to repayments and the borrowings under our revolving credit agreement for both 2012 and 2011. Inventory at year-end was $533.3 million, down 5.1% when compared to $561.8 million in 2011. At Famous Footwear, total inventory was up 2.3%. At Wholesale, inventory was down 21.6% due to strong inventory management and exited brands. Thanks to a continued focus on this area of our business, we are operating from a much cleaner inventory position versus a year ago and are in much better place in terms of process and systems when it comes to buying and managing our inventories. Our aggressive balance sheet management has resulted in significant improvement in our borrowing position versus 2011. We ended the quarter with $105 million of borrowings under our revolving credit agreement, a reduction of $96 million from the end of last year. At year end, our revolving credit agreement had approximately $380 million of additional availability. Depreciation and amortization was $54.8 million for the year, while capital expenditures were $63.7 million. Our debt-to-capital ratio declined to 41.6% from 49.1% in 2011. Our working capital as a percent of sales was 11.7% versus 11.2% in the prior year. And I'm proud to report, yesterday, we reported our 361st consecutive quarterly dividend payable April 1 to shareholders of record as of March 25. Now before we begin Q&A, I'd like to review our fiscal 2013 guidance. And we reported an outstanding 2012, but it would be easy to get carried away with the enthusiasm. We feel compelled to maintain our realistic stance towards future results, especially since we're seeing many of the same issues our footwear peers and other retailers have been calling out. So in terms of guidance, we expect adjusted earnings per diluted share of $1.18 to $1.25; consolidated net sales of $2,555,000,000 to $2,580,000,000; same-store sales at Famous Footwear up low single digits; net sales at Wholesale operations down low to mid-single digits, reflecting the exited brands; gross profit margin up 10 to 40 basis points; SG&A of $900 million to $910 million; minimal expected nonrecurring cost of $1 million to $2 million, which driven [ph] to the 2012 portfolio realignment efforts that shifted in 2013, resulting in GAAP earnings per diluted share guidance of $1.16 to $1.23; and net interest expense of $21 million to $23 million. We expect an effective tax rate of between 33% and 35% and depreciation and amortization of $54 million to $56 million and capital expenditures of $50 million to $55 million. All in all, we're making conservative assumptions on the top line for 2013 and targeting margin growth, while keeping expenses as tight as possible to provide us with maximum flexibility. And with that, operator, we'd now be happy to answer all questions.