Scott Grassmyer
Analyst · Piper Sandler
Thank you, Tom. We had a record-setting fourth quarter that capped a terrific 2022, driven by continued strength in all selling channels across the portfolio. Operating groups executed very well during 2022 and delivered double-digit top line growth within each brand. Our largest brand, Tommy Bahama, had another exceptional year, with 22% top line growth and 350 basis points of adjusted operating margin expansion to 19.6%. Lilly Pulitzer also achieved a 13% revenue growth and a 19.8% adjusted operating margin. In 2022, consolidated net sales were $1.41 billion which included $73 million of sales for Johnny Was, growing 24% above last year's net sales of $1.14 billion which included $25 million of sales from Lanier Apparel. The growth in our existing brands was strong across all of our full-price distribution channels with increases of 20% in full-price bricks and mortar, 13% full price e-comm, 29% in wholesale and 14% in restaurants. Additionally, we also had increased sales of $22 million in the Lilly Pulitzer's e-commerce flash sales and 14% in our outlets. Meanwhile, in addition to increasing sales, adjusted gross margin expanded 50 basis points over 2021 to 63.5%. We benefited from lower freight costs after experiencing very elevated freight rates in the second half of 2021. We saw additional gross margin benefits from a better mix of sales which was influenced by the addition of the higher gross margin, Johnny Was and the 2021 exit of lower gross margin Lanier Apparel. IMUs increase as well as we raised prices more than our cost increased. These items were partially offset by the impact of Lilly Pulitzers, larger flash sales and lower gross margin on the flash sales in 2022 due to extremely lean inventory in 2021. We also had higher inventory markdowns in our Emerging Brands Group during 2022 as we wound up with some excess inventory as inventory purchases outpaced demand. Adjusted SG&A expenses were $684 million compared to $564 million last year. This increase was driven by increases in our existing businesses for employment costs, advertising costs, variable expenses and other expenses to fuel and support sales growth. Also, 2022 included $41 million of SG&A associated with the Johnny Was business, for the 19-week period that we owned Johnny Was. While SG&A dollars increased, they did so at a slower pace relative to our sales growth, leading to an 80 basis points leveraging of SG&A. Result of all this yielded $234 million of adjusted operating income or 16.6% operating margin compared to $174 million or 15.3% in 2021, with the improved adjusted operating income driven by the strong results in Tommy Bahama and the operating income of Johnny Was for the 19 weeks since acquisition in September. This increased operating income was partially offset by a higher effective tax rate of 23% in 2022 and increased interest expense due to the borrowings associated with the acquisition of Johnny Was. Despite these offsets, we inhibited EPS expansion from an already excellent 2021. This led to adjusted EPS growth of 36% to $10.88. I'll now move on to the balance sheet, beginning with inventory. With inventories up 58% or $106 million year-over-year on a FIFO basis, we are in a good position to capture the sales momentum we built. Inventory levels at the beginning of the year were lower than optimal as demand outpaced inventory purchases throughout 2021. And we were unable to accelerate inventory purchases to keep up the demand. Additionally, two other factors contributed to the inventory growth. $20 million of additional inventory from our acquisition of Johnny Was and the early receipt of about $20 million -- excuse me, of about $25 million of incremental inventory to mitigate the risk of potential supply chain disruptions, increased raised inventory balances as well. Our planned revenue growth which is 45% over where we were in 2019, outpaces our FIFO inventory growth of 37% over the same time period even with the early receipt of product. Further, with our strategic focus on core and key products in recent years, our inventory has a much greater mix of core and key product items rather than fashion items which reduces inventory risk. From a liquidity standpoint, we had $9 million of cash and cash equivalents versus $210 million of cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments at the end of 2021. We used our cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments to help fund our acquisition of Johnny Was. After considering our robust cash flow from operations, the acquisition of Johnny Was, capital expenditures and other items as well as our $127 million of capital returned to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends. We had $119 million of borrowings outstanding under our $325 million revolving credit agreement at the end of 2022. I will also note that earlier this month, we amended our $325 million revolving credit agreement to extend the maturity of that agreement from July of 2024 to March of 2028. For all practical purposes, the asset-based loan agreement is consistent with the prior agreement other than extending the term, converting LIBOR to SOFR plus 10 basis points, increasing the spreads on variable interest rate borrowings by 25 basis points and an increase in certain amounts allowable for inclusion as eligible assets for the borrowing base calculation. Over the last year, we have returned $127 million of capital directly to shareholders via dividends and open market share repurchases. $92 million of this came from repurchasing 1 million shares during 2022, representing the December 2022 completion of our 100 million share repurchase program initiated in the fourth quarter of 2021. In total, we purchased more than 6% of the outstanding shares from the commencement date of that program. Looking forward, I am pleased to announce that our Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.65 per share for the first quarter of 2023 payable in April which is an increase of 18% from the prior quarter's dividend of $0.55. I'll now spend some time on our outlook for 2023. For the full year, we expect net sales to be between $1.62 billion and $1.66 billion, growth of 15% to 18% compared to sales of $1.41 billion in 2022. The increased sales plan in the 53-week 2023 includes the benefit of the full year of Johnny Was as well as growth in our existing brands in the mid-single-digit range which consists of full price brick-and-mortar and e-commerce channel growth, generally flat wholesale and outlet store sales and lower e-commerce flash sales at Lilly Pulitzer, as Lilly Pulitzer is not having an e-commerce flash sale in the first quarter of 2023. We anticipate modest gross margin expansion in 2023, including the expectation of a higher proportion of full-price direct-to-consumer sales and a lower proportion of e-commerce flash and wholesale sales and the inclusion of the higher gross margin Johnny Was business for the full year 2023. These higher sales and improved gross margins are expected to be partially offset by increased SG&A which is expected to grow at a rate higher than sales in 2023 as we invest in our business, including information technology spend and SG&A, higher employment cost, additional brick-and-mortar locations opening in 2023 and increased depreciation expense resulting from both IT spend and brick-and-mortar locations. Considering all these items, we expect that operating margin will decrease modestly from 2022 levels. Additionally, we anticipate higher interest expense at $5 million to $6 million, with about half that interest expense in the first quarter, smaller increases in the second and third quarters and a decrease in the fourth quarter. This compares to $3 million of interest expense in the full year of 2022. We also expect significantly higher effective tax rate of between 25% and 26% compared to 23% in 2022 which benefited from certain favorable items such as prior year operating loss utilizations and the reversal of some valuation allowances. After considering these items, 2023 adjusted EPS is expected to be between $11.50 and $11.90 versus adjusted EPS of $10.88 last year with the inclusion of a full year of operating income of Johnny Was and increased operating income in our existing businesses being partially offset by the increased income tax expense and interest expense. In the first quarter of 2023, we expect sales of $405 million to $425 million compared to sales of $353 million in the first quarter of 2022. In the first quarter of 2023, we expect many of the same factors driving our results that impact the year with higher sales, modest gross margin improvement, some SG&A deleveraging, higher interest expense and a higher effective tax rate. We expect this to result in first quarter adjusted EPS of between $3.60 and $3.80 compared to $3.50 in the first quarter of 2022. Expanding on the theme of 2023 being an investment year, I'd like to briefly discuss our CapEx outlook for 2023. Capital expenditures in fiscal 2023 are expected to be approximately $90 million compared to $47 million in fiscal 2022. The planned increase is primarily due to increased investment in our various direct-to-consumer technology systems initiatives, the commencement of a significant multiyear project at Alliance torch distribution center to enhance its direct-to-consumer throughput capabilities, executing on our pipeline of Marlin Bars, including 3 expected to open in 2023. The addition of Johnny Was which is increasing its store count by 10 or more stores this year and increases in store openings in our other brands. We expect this elevated capital expenditure level to continue into 2024 before it begins to moderate in 2025. Moving beyond the income statement. We have a positive outlook on our cash and liquidity position as well. Cash flow from operations are expected to be very strong, giving us ample room to make the previously mentioned investments fund an 18% increase to a quarterly dividend while also delevering throughout the year. Thank you for your time today. And now we'll turn the call over for questions. Stacy?