Dillard’s Inc. of Little Rock (NYSE: DDS) reported Thursday its third-quarter profit of $124.6 million, down 19.76% from the same quarter last year.
The department store chain also reported a 4% drop in total retail sales compared with the same period last year, marking the seventh straight quarter of sales declines.
“While retail sales declined 4%, we focused on gross margin, reporting a respectable 44.5% of sales, while working on expense control,” Dillard’s CEO William T. Dillard II said in a news release. “We reported cash and short-term investments of over $1.1 billion after repurchasing $107 million in stock. We are looking forward to welcoming our customers and serving them this holiday season.”
Dillard’s earnings per share of $7.73 for the second quarter was down 18.5% from the same quarter a year ago.
But the results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $6.47 per share.
For the quarter which ended Nov. 2, same-store sales fell by 5%, a key metric for retailers.
Dillard’s reported net sales of $1.427 billion for the quarter, which was down 3.3% from the third quarter in 2023. Net sales includes the operations of Dillard’s construction business, CDI Contractors LLC.
Dillard’s revenue also beat Wall Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.42 billion.
Dillard’s operating expenses were $418.9 million, or 29.4% of sales, compared with $421.8 million, or 28.6% of sales, in last year’s quarter.
Compared to the prior year third quarter, retail gross margin increased “slightly” in ladies’ accessories and lingerie and was “flat” in men’s apparel and accessories and cosmetics, the news release said. Gross margin fell “slightly” in shoes and juniors’ and children’s apparel and dropped “moderately” in home and furniture and ladies’ apparel.
The retailer operates 273 Dillard’s stores, including 28 clearance centers, across 30 states.
Dillard’s stock price rose more than 10% Thursday morning to about $429. Year to date, shares were up 3.77%.
The Associated Press contributed information to this report.
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