Dillard’s Inc. managed to claw its way into a sales increase in the second quarter but didn’t have the same luck when it came to net income.
In the period ended Aug. 2, the Little Rock, Ark.-based retailer reported that its net income slid to $72.8 million, down from $74.5 million a year earlier. However, earnings per share increased $4.66 from $4.59 as the company bought back its own stock.
Both total retail sales and comparable-store sales inched up 1 percent to $1.447 billion. The strongest performing categories were juniors’ and children’s apparel and women’s accessories and lingerie while home and furniture turned in the weakest results.
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“We were happy to achieve a sales increase for the first time in a while and encouraged by strengthening sales trends in July,” said William T. Dillard 2nd, chief executive officer. “In an operating environment that changes daily, we focused on controlling inventory, ending up 2 percent compared to 6 percent at the end of first quarter.”
Retail gross margin fell slightly to 38.1 percent of sales from 39.1 percent for the same quarter last year. The company said gross margin decreased slightly in men’s apparel and accessories and “significantly” in women’s apparel but were essentially unchanged in juniors’ and children’s apparel, cosmetics, home and furniture.
The company does not hold an analyst call and did not offer guidance on sales or earnings projections for the second half.
Dillard’s operates 272 stores in 30 states, which includes 28 clearance centers.