Fred's, Inc (FRED) saw its loss widen to $22.47 million, or $0.60 a share for the quarter ended Jan. 28, 2017. In the previous year period, the company reported a loss of $3.90 million, or $0.11 a share. Revenue during the quarter dropped 4.48 percent to $529.73 million from $554.58 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter expanded 50 basis points over the previous year period to 24.46 percent. Operating margin for the quarter stood at negative 4.18 percent as compared to a negative 0.92 percent for the previous year period.
Operating loss for the quarter was $22.15 million, compared with an operating loss of $5.10 million in the previous year period.
Commenting on today’s results, Michael K. Bloom, Chief Executive Officer, said, “Over the last several months we have started to recognize the positive impact of the initiatives we began implementing in 2016. We are now seeing bottom-line improvement driven by sequential growth in Retail Pharmacy adjusted script comps, sequential progress in sales trends in our Specialty Pharmacy business, Front Store margin expansion and strong holiday seasonal category sales. We are pleased to report that our comprehensive strategy and plan to improve our performance is on target. Notably, we have rolled out a series of initiatives that will continue to lay the foundation for Fred’s Pharmacy’s success. We are upgrading talent; investing in technology; diversifying our specialty pharmacy portfolio; improving the patient and customer experience; increasing supply chain efficiencies; expanding margins; and optimizing assets to improve performance and cash flow.”
Working capital increases
Fred's, Inc has recorded an increase in the working capital over the last year. It stood at $223.16 million as at Jan. 28, 2017, up 6.26 percent or $13.15 million from $210.01 million on Jan. 30, 2016. Current ratio was at 2.05 as on Jan. 28, 2017, up from 1.87 on Jan. 30, 2016.
Debt increases substantially
Fred's, Inc has witnessed an increase in total debt over the last one year. It stood at $128.45 million as on Jan. 28, 2017, up 141.68 percent or $75.30 million from $53.15 million on Jan. 30, 2016. Total debt was 18.37 percent of total assets as on Jan. 28, 2017, compared with 7.28 percent on Jan. 30, 2016. Debt to equity ratio was at 0.38 as on Jan. 28, 2017, up from 0.13 as on Jan. 30, 2016. Disclaimer: Please note that this is an auto-generated article. IRIS does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information. IRIS especially states that it has no financial liability whatsoever to any user on account of the use of information provided on its website. For queries contact: editor@irisindia.net
