Dillard’s Sees 23% Boost In Q1 Bottom Line

Despite flat-line sales brought about by cooler temperatures, Dillard’s reported a 23% increase in profits as the Little Rock-based mall retailer boosted its bottom line.

Dillard’s reported net income of $117.2 million on sales and revenue of $1.589 billion in its first quarter. One year ago, Dillard’s reported quarterly profits of $95 million on revenue of $1.586 billion.

The company cited an improving gross margin on merchandise which improved 110 basis points, as well as a small decrease in operating expenses.

There were also several one-time items impacting net income including:

• A $7.6 million after tax gain related to the sale of an investment
• A $1.0 million after tax credit related to a pension adjustment
• After-tax asset impairment and store closing charges of $4.2 million

“We are reporting a strong start to 2013 in spite of unseasonably cool weather. Positive comparable stores sales and gross margin expansion combined with good expense control led to another quarter of record profitability at Dillard’s. We were also pleased with our strong cash flow, which enabled us to repurchase $114.7 million of Class A Common Stock,” said Dillard’s CEO William T. Dillard.

The company reported that total merchandise sales and same-store sales increased 1% for the 13-week period ended May 4, 2013. One year ago, Dillard’s saw a 5% comparable store sales increase in the first quarter.