Shoe Carnival Posts Rise In Q1 Profit, Narrows FY Earnings Forecast

reported a rise in its profit for the first quarter. For the year, Shoe Carnival now projects earnings of $1.42 to $1.48 per share, versus its prior forecast of $1.40 to $1.48 per share. The company affirmed its sales forecast for the year. The company projects net sales of $977 million to $991 million, and comparable store sales growth of 1.5 percent to 3.0 percent. The Evansville, Indiana-based company reported a quarterly profit of $10.4 million, or $0.52 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $9.2 million, or $0.45 per share. The latest quarter earnings included an additional expense of $0.01 per share related to the west coast port congestion. Its net sales gained 7.2 percent to $252.8 million from $235.8 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.52 per share on revenue of $254.6 million. The average estimate among 3 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.10 per share and revenue of $220.27 million. Comparable store sales gained 3 percent in the quarter. Its gross margin remained flat at 29.5 percent, while the merchandise margin rose 0.1 percent. Selling, general and administrative expenses rose $3.3 million to $57.7 million for the first quarter. Cliff Sifford, President and CEO, said, "We are pleased with our comparable store sales growth and our ability to deliver strong first quarter earnings. While the quarter started off very challenging due to adverse weather, with over 400 days of store closures, the consumer responded favorably to our family footwear assortment, which resulted in a comparable store sales increase across all footwear departments and in each of our geographic regions." Shoe Carnival shares finished down 2.33 percent at $28.08 during regular trading hours.