Stage Stores, Inc. total sales for the month of January increased 3.8% to $66.1 million from $63.7 million in the prior year. Comparable store sales increased 1.5% versus an increase of 3.7% last year.
Jim Scarborough, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Geographically, we had mixed sales results in January. In general, the warmer than normal temperatures we experienced throughout the month resulted in weakened demand for our winter clearance merchandise. However, our stores in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi achieved comparable store sales increases, benefiting from the continuing after-hurricane rebound in sales, and our Texas stores also benefited from sales of University of Texas related apparel and giftware following their national football championship. As we look ahead, we believe that we will be well positioned as we move fully into the spring selling season, and we are optimistic about our prospects for our 2006 fiscal year.”
For the fourth quarter ended January 28, 2006, the Company reported that total sales increased 7.6% to $418.6 million from $389.0 million last year, and comparable store sales grew 5.6% versus an increase of 4.0% for the prior year period. For the full 2005 fiscal year, total sales increased 8.1% to $1,344.1 million from $1,243.9 million in fiscal 2004, while comparable store sales increased 5.4% for the year.
The following table is provided for reference purposes and details the sales history for the Company on a monthly and quarterly basis for the 2004 and 2005 fiscal years.
SALES SUMMARY
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Comparable Store Sales Trend Total Sales
% Increase (Decrease) ($ in Millions)
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Fiscal Period 2005 2004 2005 2004
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February 3.7% 8.0% $ 92.3 $ 87.8
March 12.1 5.5 125.2 110.2
April (2.5) 0.3 92.6 91.7
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1st Quarter 4.9 4.5 310.1 289.7
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May 7.0 1.0 100.0 90.6
June 11.0 (2.5) 115.0 100.2
July 2.4 (7.8) 94.4 89.1
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2nd Quarter 7.0 (3.2) 309.4 279.9
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August 1.5 8.1 111.2 105.7
September (2.6) 2.5 98.5 97.9
October 14.9 1.8 96.3 81.7
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3rd Quarter 3.9 4.3 306.0 285.3
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November 4.6 6.0 110.6 103.8
December 7.3 3.1 241.9 221.5
January 1.5 3.7 66.1 63.7
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4th Quarter 5.6 4.0 418.6 389.0
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Full Year 5.4% 2.5% $1,344.1 $1,243.9
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During January, the Company closed its stores in Killeen, Texas, Conway, Arkansas and Lawton, Oklahoma. A fourth store was closed in Edinburg, Texas as part of the Company's consolidation of its two Edinburg stores into a single expanded location.
Looking ahead, the Company currently plans to open six new stores in the first quarter of the 2006 fiscal year. Of these new stores, five will be opened under the Peebles name, while the sixth store will be opened as a Stage store. Additionally, the Company expects to reopen its stores in Moss Bluff, Louisiana and Port Arthur, Texas during the period, which are two of the four stores damaged by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The Company reaffirmed comfort with its previously provided earnings guidance range of $0.64 to $0.67 per diluted share. This compares to net income of $0.62 per diluted share last year. The Company plans to release actual fourth quarter and full year results before the market opens on March 9th.
