Dillard’s continues COVID-19 rebound

Merchandise retailer Dillard’s continued its rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic as the Little Rock-based company reported higher sales and profits.

For the 13-week period ending Oct. 30, 2021, Dillard’s posted revenue of $1.48 billion versus $1.025 billion in the previous year’s third quarter. Same store sales rose 48%.

Net income for the third quarter of 2021 was $197.3 million compared to $31.9 million a year ago.

“We are pleased to report another record quarter,” said Dillard’s Chief Executive Officer William T. Dillard, II. “Continued strong sales combined with record gross margin and expense control produced $197 million of net income. We ended the quarter in another strong cash position of $620 million after repurchasing $239 million of stock.”

Key highlights for the quarter included:

• Operating expenses were $393.2 million (26.5% of sales) compared to $318.2 million (31.0% of sales);
• Quarterly retail gross margin improved significantly to 46.7% compared to 36.6% for the prior year third quarter;
• Inventory decreased approximately 1% at October 30, 2021 compared to October 31, 2020.

During the third quarter, Dillard’s opened a new location at Mesa Mall in Grand Junction, Colorado and closed a leased clearance center in Harlingen, Texas. The company operates 250 Dillard’s locations and 30 clearance centers spanning 29 states.

Dillard’s stock closed Friday (Nov. 12) at $325.61 per share. The company’s shares have traded as low as $45.73 and as high as $364.08 over the past 52 weeks.