Adam Holland
Analyst · KeyBanc Capital Markets. Please go ahead
Thank you, Mike. Net sales for the second quarter were up 11.4%, while comparable store sales increased 6.7%. Brick-and-mortar comps were up 4.7%, this was driven by 4% increase in transactions, which was comprised of an increased conversion offset by slight decline in traffic. The number of item sold per transaction was up slightly and average unit retail price was flat for last year, which led to a small increase in the average ticket. E-commerce revenue was $7.7 million for the quarter, that's a 38% increase over the prior year quarter and accounted for approximately 6.7% of total sales during Q2. In the second quarter last year e-commerce was 5.4% of total sales. Comp sales trends in both our brick-and-mortar and e-commerce stores were positive throughout the quarter, but stronger in May and June. Of the nine new stores opened this quarter most occurred in July as we expected. We had some slippage in our construction schedules to close the quarter, but we have opened seven additional stores thus far in August, totaling 17 new stores so far this year. At the end of the quarter, we had 2.7 million square feet under lease and 8% increase from the prior year. Average store size was also up 1% to 7,572 square feet. Second quarter gross profit margin increased 28 basis points to 36.9%. Merchandize margin decreased 13 basis points to 54%. As mentioned on our last call, we had an unfavorable comparison to last year's physical inventory results, which accounted for most of the merchandize margin decline. Moving on to other components of gross profit margin, store occupancy cost decreased slightly as a percentage of net sales during the second quarter of 2015. Outbound freight costs which include e-commerce shipping decreased 51 basis points as a percentage of sales primarily due to the continued shift to more in-store pick up sales from e-commerce, which represent a lower cost for us. As expected, central distribution costs increased 15 basis points reflecting the addition of the new distribution facility in Jackson. Operating expenses for the second quarter were 35.5% of sales that was up approximately 136 basis points versus last year. Store related expenses such as payroll and marketing, provided leverage versus the prior-year quarter, but were largely offset by the previously discussed IT expense. Corporate related expenses deleveraged during the quarter driven by increases in payroll, professional fees and rent related to our new corporate headquarters. E-commerce related operating expenses had a slight leverage compared to the prior year quarter. Depreciation and amortization increased 32 basis points as a percentage of sales, reflecting the increase in capital expenditures, including the implementation of major technology initiatives during the last several years. The tax rate for the quarter was 38.4%. Consistent with our previous guidance range, the net loss for the quarter was $0.13 per diluted share. Moving to the balance sheet and the cash flow statement. At the end of the quarter we had $49.1 million of cash on hand and during the quarter the company paid $1.50 per share special cash dividend totaling approximately $26 million. We also repurchased $30,758 shares of common stock for a total of $772,000 bringing us to a total of 105,504 shares or $2.5 million or an average price of $23.81 per share year-to-date. At the end of the quarter, we had approximately $22.7 million remaining available for future share repurchases. Inventory was up 14.9% versus the year ago which was inline with our expectation to support our expected sales increase for the third quarter, combined with a sizable increase in new store opening activity. At the end of the quarter we had no long-term debt and no borrowings were outstanding under our revolving line of credit. Through the end of the second quarter, cash used in operations was $10.2 million, reflecting our operating performance and increase in inventory. Capital expenditures were $10.8 million for the first half of 2015, primarily relating to new store openings, improvements to existing stores, as well as supply chain investment. Turning to our guidance. As we look to the back half of the year it's important to recognize that we expect to open a large amount of stores in the third quarter and we'll get the full benefit for those openings in Q4. This higher level of activity will impact expense rate for the third quarter but will benefit both sales and expense leverage for the fourth quarter. For the third quarter fiscal 2015 we expect total sales to be in the range of $130 million to $132 million which reflects an increased in comparable store sales of 3% to 4%, compared with net sales of $117.2 billion and comparable store sales increase of 6.3% in the prior year quarter. Gross profit margin is anticipated to be modestly down compared to the prior year period, primarily due to cost related to the addition of the new distribution facility. Operating expenses are expected to deleverage slightly during the quarter extending from higher store payroll and pre-opening expenses related to a compressed number of new store openings. As a result earnings per share is expected to be in the range of $0.02 to $0.05 per diluted share, this compares with earnings of $0.07 per diluted share in the prior year quarter. Turning to the year. We expect to generate earnings per share of $1.16 to $1.23 excluding the $0.02 per diluted share charge related to the retirement of the companies previous CEO incurred in the first quarter. This represents growth of 16 – 23% over 2014 without regard to share repurchases. A slight adjustment to the bottom end of the range reflects the impact of the unanticipated expense in the second quarter assuming we were to hit the lower end of our comparable store sales guidance. Our guidance continues to assume comparable store sales in the range of 3% to 5% for the year as we faced upper comparisons. We've [tightened] [ph] the top end of our consolidated sales guidance to an increase of 11% to 12% from the prior range of 10% to 12% to account for more non-comp sales. As Mike mentioned earlier, the new stores we have opened so far are performing well. And we are optimistic that will positively impact fourth quarter. We expect an improvement in our operating margin from a slight increase in gross profit margins and leverage on our operating expenses. This guidance assumes a 39% tax rate. From a cash flow standpoint, we expect to generate positive cash flow in fiscal 2015, excluding the special cash dividend and our ongoing share repurchase plan. We do not anticipate any usage of our line of credit during the year and capital expenditures are currently anticipated to range between $29 million and $31 million before landlord constructional allowances for new stores. These CapEx assumptions reflect the increase in store openings and distribution center enhancements. Thanks. I will now turn the call back to Mike.