Stein Mart announced financial results for the third quarter ended November 3, 2018.
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Operating loss for the third quarter was $13.4 million for 2018 compared to an operating loss of $23.9 million for 2017.
Third quarter 2018 results include advisory fees related to the extension of our credit agreements, as well as expenses and lower gross profit due to the impact of Hurricanes Florence and Michael. These unanticipated items approximated $3 million.
Net loss for the third quarter of 2018 was $16.6 million or $0.36 per share compared to net loss of $14.6 million or $0.31 per share in 2017. Net loss for 2017 includes an income tax benefit of $10.4 million or $0.22 per share compared to no income tax benefit in 2018.
Adjusted earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDAâ€) for the third quarter of 2018 improved by $11.3 million to negative $2.8 million compared to negative $14.1 million for last year’s third quarter.
Adjusted EBITDA for the first nine months of 2018 increased more than $33 million to $25.9 million from negative $7.4 million for last year’s first nine months. (See Note 1.)
Net sales for the third quarter of 2018 were $279.1 million compared with $285.4 million for the third quarter of 2017.
Comparable sales for the third quarter of 2018 increased 1.4 percent including sales from licensed departments (see Note 2). Ecommerce sales were up 76 percent over last year’s third quarter. The decrease in total net sales for the quarter reflects the closing of seven underperforming stores this year.
For the first nine months of 2018, net sales decreased 1.8 percent to $916.8 million while comparable sales increased 0.4 percent. Ecommerce sales were up 96 percent over the first nine months of last year. The decrease in total net sales reflects the closing of 13 underperforming stores in 2017 and 2018.
Gross profit for the third quarter of 2018 was $69.8 million or 25.0 percent of sales compared to $68.3 million or 23.9 percent of sales in 2017. The 110 basis point increase in the gross profit rate was driven primarily by higher gross margin from reduced markdowns and continuing improvement in inventory productivity. Markdowns were high in last year’s third quarter to clear excess inventories. ■