DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.'s (BBBY) fiscal third-quarter net income fell 37% as sales and gross margins dropped amid the difficult retail environment.
Amid expectations that same-store sales would fall in the mid-single digits, the housewares retailer issued a fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year view below analysts' estimates.
For the quarter ended Nov. 29, the company reported net income of $87.7 million, or 34 cents a share, down from $138.2 million, or 52 cents a share, a year earlier.
Net sales fell 0.7% to $1.78 billion.
Last month, the company lowered its expected earnings to a range of 31 cents to 35 cents a share and projected a 0.7% decline in net sales from $1.8 billion a year earlier.
Same-store sales dropped 5.6%, matching the company's prediction last month. The company attributed falling same-store sales partially to a later Thanksgiving holiday.
Gross margin decreased to 38.9% from 41.7%.
Looking ahead, the company projected fiscal fourth-quarter per-share earnings to be 40 cents to 46 cents, with same-store sales falling in the mid-single digits. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were looking for 49 cents per share.
For the fiscal year, Bed Bath & Beyond expects per-share earnings of $1.50 to $1.56. Wall Street was looking for $1.58 a share.
William Blair & Co. had said the company was expected to face the brunt of the Linens 'n Things Inc. liquidation in the fiscal third quarter. Last month, the company warned its earnings were hurt from the rival's bankruptcy filing and the macroeconomic climate.
William Blair said the disruption from Linens should be less dramatic in the fiscal fourth quarter and said Bed Bath & Beyond's competitive position should be "vastly improved" in 2009.
Bed Bath & Beyond, which had 1,021 stores as of Nov. 29, opened 25 stores in the third quarter. The company, which also owns stores under the Christmas Tree Shops, buybuy BABY, Harmon and Harmon Face Values names, also has opened three stores in the current quarter.
Shares were down 1.4% to $25.19 in after-hours trading.
-By John Kell, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5285; john.kell@dowjones.com
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Publié le 07 janvier 2009 Copyright © 2009 Dowjones