Men's Wearhouse Reports Narrower-Than-Expected Q4 Loss

reported narrower-than-expected loss for the fourth quarter on Wednesday. The Houston, Texas-based company reported a quarterly loss of $35.9 million, or $0.75 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $30.4 million, or $0.64 per share. Excluding non-operating items, the company lost $0.03 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $0.38 per share. Its net sales surged 66% to $928.4 million. However, analysts were projecting a loss of $0.07 per share on revenue of $919 million. Net sales at Men's Wearhouse brand climbed 8.4% y/y in the quarter. Adjusted consolidated gross margin climbed 74% to $363.3 million. Advertising expenses jumped 82.1% to $59.2 million. Doug Ewert, Men's Wearhouse chief executive officer, said, "We continue to be pleased with the robust earnings performance of our legacy brands. Fueling this performance in the fourth quarter are comparable sales increases of 6.8% at Men's Wearhouse, 8.6% at Moores and 6.8% at K&G. And while Jos. A. Bank's comparable sales were negative 6.6%, they were above our expectations." "We continue to be confident in our 2017 EPS guidance which has now been increased to include K&G. We expect profits to accelerate in 2016 with rebounding sales after three consecutive years of negative comps at Jos. A. Bank, realized cost synergies and modest growth in the legacy business. With the stable platform our legacy brands provide, we are able to focus on this transitional year for Jos. A. Bank as we complete the transition and integration of all the key areas during the year," Ewert added. Men's Wearhouse shares rose 2.21% to $49.10 in after-hours trading.