The Children's Place, Inc (PLCE) has reported a 95.66 percent jump in profit for the quarter ended Jan. 28, 2017. The company has earned $34.20 million, or $1.86 a share in the quarter, compared with $17.48 million, or $0.87 a share for the same period last year. On the other hand, adjusted net income for the quarter stood at $34.63 million, or $1.88 a share compared with $24.07 million or $1.19 a share, a year ago.
Revenue during the quarter grew 4.46 percent to $520.77 million from $498.54 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter expanded 47 basis points over the previous year period to 36.07 percent. Total expenses were 90.66 percent of quarterly revenues, down from 94.11 percent for the same period last year. This has led to an improvement of 346 basis points in operating margin to 9.34 percent.
Operating income for the quarter was $48.66 million, compared with $29.35 million in the previous year period.
However, the adjusted operating income for the quarter stood at $49.95 million compared to $33.47 million in the prior year period. At the same time, adjusted operating margin improved 288 basis points in the quarter to 9.59 percent from 6.71 percent in the last year period.
Jane Elfers, president and chief executive officer, said, “By any measure, 2016 was a spectacular year for The Children’s Place. We made significant progress on our numerous self-help initiatives. And our product assortment, supported by a foundation of superior design, sourcing and merchandising capabilities, clearly resonated with our customers.”
The company expects diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $1.53 to $1.63 for the first-quarter. For fiscal year 2017, the company expects diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $6.50 to $6.65.
Operating cash flow improves
The Children's Place, Inc has generated cash of $199.29 million from operating activities during the year, up 9.11 percent or $16.64 million, when compared with the last year.
The company has spent $44.25 million cash to meet investing activities during the year as against cash outgo of $30.62 million in the last year.
The company has spent $155.05 million cash to carry out financing activities during the year as against cash outgo of $131.35 million in the last year period.
Cash and cash equivalents stood at $193.71 million as on Jan. 28, 2017, up 3.29 percent or $6.18 million from $187.53 million on Jan. 30, 2016.
Working capital declines
The Children's Place, Inc has witnessed a decline in the working capital over the last year. It stood at $281.97 million as at Jan. 28, 2017, down 7.94 percent or $24.32 million from $306.29 million on Jan. 30, 2016. Current ratio was at 1.86 as on Jan. 28, 2017, down from 2.11 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
