J. Jill announced financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended January 30, 2021.
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The Company ended the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 with $4.4 million in cash and $23.8 million of total availability under its revolving credit agreement.
Inventory at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 decreased 20.1% to $58.0 million compared to $72.6 million at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019.
Total net sales for the thirteen weeks ended January 30, 2021 were $120.4 million compared to $168.1 million for the thirteen weeks ended February 1, 2020.
Direct to consumer net sales represented 64.8% of total net sales, compared to 47.3% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019.
Gross profit was $68.7 million compared to $100.0 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. Gross margin was 57.0% compared to 59.5% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. The year over year gross margin decline was primarily driven by actions taken in the quarter to clear excess inventory.
Direct to consumer net sales represented 65.1% of total net sales compared to 43.7% in the fifty-two weeks ended February 1, 2020.
Gross profit was $242.9 million compared to $428.6 million in the fifty-two weeks ended February 1, 2020. Gross margin was 57.7% compared to 62.0% in the fifty-two weeks ended February 1, 2020.
SG&A was $343.4 million compared to $406.7 million in the fifty-two weeks ended February 1, 2020. In the fifty-two weeks ended January 30, 2021, SG&A included $24.7 million of expense primarily the result of legal and advisory costs related to the debt restructuring agreements with lenders and costs directly incurred in response to the COVID-19 pandemic offset by a benefit of $1.4 million related to adjustments to the estimated costs of permanently closing certain retail locations. Excluding these items, SG&A as a percentage of total net sales was 76.0% compared to 58.6% in the fifty-two weeks ended February 1, 2020.
For the fifty-two weeks ended January 30, 2021, the Company recognized impairment charges of $66.3 million associated with goodwill, other intangible assets and other long-lived assets compared to $133.9 million in the fifty-two weeks ended February 1, 2020.
Loss from operations was $166.9 million compared to a loss of $112.0 million in the fifty-two weeks ended February 1, 2020.
Adjusted (Loss) Income from Operations, excluding the non-recurring and impairment charges incurred in fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019, was a loss of $77.3 million compared to Adjusted Income from Operations of $23.4 million, respectively.
Interest expense was $18.2 million compared to $19.6 million in the fifty-two weeks ended February 1, 2020.
Income tax benefit was $48.9 million compared to a benefit of $3.0 million in the fifty-two weeks ended February 1, 2020, and the effective tax rate was 25.7% compared to 2.3% in the fifty-two weeks ended February 1, 2020.
Net loss was $141.4 million compared to a loss of $128.6 million in the fifty-two weeks ended February 1, 2020.
Net loss per share was $15.44 compared to a net loss of $14.69 in the fifty-two weeks ended February 1, 2020, including the impact of one-time items. Excluding the impact of non-recurring items, Adjusted (Loss) Income per Share for the fifty-two weeks ended January 30, 2021 was a loss of $7.72 compared to income of $0.32 for the fifty-two weeks ended February 1, 2020. ■