Dillard’s sees net income slip amid lower sales

Upscale retailer Dillard’s reported Thursday (Nov. 14) net income of $124.6 million in its third quarter, down from $155.3 million one year ago. Diluted earnings per share was $7.73 versus $9.49 in the previous year’s third quarter.

The earnings per share beat the consensus estimate of $6.47.

Revenue for the Little Rock-based retail chain for the 13 weeks ended Nov. 2, 2024 was $1.427 billion compared to $1.504 billion in the previous year’s comparable quarter, and almost in line with the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. Revenue includes sales from the company’s construction business, CDI Contractors, LLC.

“While retail sales declined 4%, we focused on gross margin, reporting a respectable 44.5% of sales, while working on expense control. 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,” said Dillard’s CEO William T. Dillard, II.

Dillard’s said cosmetics was the strongest performing merchandise category, with the weakest performances noted in juniors’ and children’s apparel and men’s apparel and accessories.

Other quarterly highlights included:

• Total retail sales decreased 4%;
• Comparable store sales decreased 4%;
• Retail gross margin of 44.5% of sales compared to 45.3% of sales; and
• Ending inventory increased 3%.

The company has 273 stores in 30 states. Dillard’s (NYSE: DDS) stock closed trading on Wednesday at $388.51 per share. Over the past 52 weeks, the company’s stock has traded within a $314.57 per share low and a $476.48 per share high.