Bebe Stores announced unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended July 4, 2015. Q4 net sales were $104.3 million, an increase of 0.7% from $103.6 million reported for Q4 a year ago.
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Comparable store sales for the quarter ended July 4, 2015, increased 1.1% compared to a decrease of 1.9% in the comparable period of the prior year.
Gross margin from as a percentage of net sales increased to 34.8% compared to 30.9% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. The improvement in margin was primarily the effect of higher average unit retail during the quarter as compared to the same period last year, partly driven by fewer promotions and markdowns coupled with better leverage from occupancy costs.
SG&A expenses were $41.3 million, or 39.6% of net sales, compared to $56.1 million, or 54.2% of net sales, for the same period in the prior year. The decrease in SG&A expenses was primarily attributable to a $5.4 million reduction in compensation expense reflecting the effects of savings from restructuring activities.
Advertising expense contributed $3.7 million to the decrease as the Company has been more selective in the use of advertising dollars. The fourth quarter of the prior year was also impacted by store closure and impairment and closure related charges of $4.1 million.
Loss from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 was $5.5 million, or $0.07 per share, on 79.6 million shares outstanding, compared to a loss of $24.2 million, or $0.30 per share, on 79.5 million diluted shares outstanding for the same period of the prior year.
Included in loss from continuing operations for the quarter were certain incremental costs totaling $1.2 million including charges related to cyber breach and store impairment.
Excluding the impact of these charges, loss from continuing operations was $4.3 million, or $0.05 per share, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015.
Including income from discontinued operations of $0.3 million, net loss for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 was $5.2 million, or $0.07 per share. Including a loss from discontinued operations of $10.3 million, net loss for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 was $34.5 million, or $0.43 per share.
Income from discontinued operations during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 reflects the effects of finalizing the settlement of leases while the prior year period reflects the operating results of the 2b business, which was shut down on July 5, 2014.
During the quarter ended July 4, 2015, the Company closed three bebe stores and opened one outlet store.
Full year fiscal 2015 results:
Net sales for the fiscal year ended July 4, 2015, were $428.0 million, an increase of 0.7% from $425.1 million for the fiscal year ended July 5, 2014. Comparable store sales for the fiscal year ended July 4, 2015, increased 3.1% compared to a decrease of 3.2% in the prior year.
Loss from continuing operations for the fiscal year ended July 4, 2015, was $25.4 million, or $0.32 per share, compared to a loss of $59.2 million, or $0.75 per share in the prior year. Included in loss from continuing operations for fiscal 2015 was a net $2.3 million in charges related to settlement expenses including the cyber breach, severance and impairment charges.
Excluding the impact of these charges, loss from continuing operations was $23.1 million or $0.29 per share for fiscal 2015 (a reconciliation of GAAP to non GAAP measures is provided in this earnings release).
Including loss from discontinued operations of $2.3 million, net loss for fiscal 2015 was $27.7 million, or $0.35 per share. Including loss from discontinued operations of $14.1 million, net loss was $73.4 million, or $0.93 per share, for fiscal 2014.
Loss from discontinued operations for both years reflects the operating results of the 2b business, which was shut down on July 5, 2014.
For fiscal 2015, the loss from discontinued operations primarily represented expenses related to lease terminations. The company does not expect any significant costs related to 2b in future periods. ■