Express, Inc. Reports Record Second Quarter 2015 Results; Introduces Third Quarter Guidance and Raises Full Year 2015 Outlook

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Express, Inc. (NYSE: EXPR), a specialty retail apparel company, announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2015. These results cover the thirteen and twenty-six week periods ended August 1, 2015 and compare to the thirteen and twenty-six week periods ended August 2, 2014.

David Kornberg, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, noted that, "We delivered record second quarter sales, operating income and diluted earnings per share. Strong fashion supported by brand focused marketing and an elevation of our customer experience drove a 7% increase in comparable sales. Disciplined inventory management, combined with the appeal of our product assortment, enabled us to reduce the breadth, depth and frequency of our promotions. Growth continued across our distribution channels of retail stores, e-commerce and factory outlets. The various components of our business were managed consistently with our balanced approach to growth, and each contributed to our diluted earnings per share results, which rose 213% to $0.25."

Mr. Kornberg went on to note that, "Looking towards the second half of the year, I believe we are well positioned to further grow our business and enhance the Express brand. We expect the continued execution of our strategy to result in productivity and profitability gains for our Company and increased value for our shareholders."

Second Quarter 2015 Operating Results:

• Net sales increased 11% to $535.6 million from $481.4 million in the second quarter of 2014.
• Comparable sales (including e-commerce sales) increased 7%, compared to a 5% decrease in the second quarter of 2014.
• E-commerce sales rose 21% to $75.0 million.
• Merchandise margin grew by 240 basis points as we continued to manage inventory levels and promotions with restraint. Buying and occupancy as a percentage of net sales also improved by 240 basis points as costs were leveraged against higher sales. These led to a gross margin improvement of 480 basis points, with gross margin of 33.1% compared to 28.3% in last year's second quarter.
• Selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses were $140.6 million versus $121.9 million in last year's second quarter, primarily due to the addition of outlet related expenses and incentive compensation.  As a percentage of net sales, SG&A expenses increased by 90 basis points to 26.2% compared to 25.3% in last year's second quarter.
• Operating income was $35.9 million, or 6.7% of net sales, compared to $14.6 million, or 3.0% of net sales in the second quarter of 2014.
• Income tax expense was $13.2 million, at an effective tax rate of 38.5%, compared to $1.8 million, at an effective tax rate of 20.6% in last year's second quarter. The tax rate for the second quarter of 2014 reflected the release of uncertain tax positions following the conclusion of a multi-year IRS tax examination.
• Net income was $21.0 million, or $0.25 per diluted share. This compares to net income of $6.9 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2014.
• Real estate activity for the second quarter of 2015 is presented in Schedule 5.

Twenty-Six Week Period Operating Results:

• Net sales increased 10% to $1.038 billion from $942.1 million in the prior year period.
• Comparable sales during the period (including e-commerce sales) increased 7%, compared to a decrease of 8% in the prior year period.
• E-commerce sales of $152.6 million increased 17% from $130.8 million in the prior year period.
• Merchandise margin increased 220 basis points and buying and occupancy costs as a percentage of net sales decreased 190 basis points. Gross margin increased to 33.1% of net sales compared to 29.0% in the prior year period.
• SG&A expenses were $273.7 million versus $244.8 million in the prior year period. This represented 26.4% of net sales, compared to 26.0% in the same period last year.
• Operating income was $69.8 million, or 6.7% of net sales, compared to $29.6 million, or 3.1% of net sales, in the prior year period.
• The effective tax rate was 39.3% compared to 32.7% in the prior year period.
• Net income was $34.1 million, or $0.40 per diluted share, compared to net income of $12.0 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, in the prior year period. After considering non-core operating expenses incurred in connection with the full redemption of our Senior Notes due 2018, adjusted net income was $40.0 million, or $0.47 per diluted share. Please refer to Schedule 4 for a reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP financial measures.

Second Quarter 2015 Balance Sheet Highlights:

• Cash and cash equivalents totaled $155.6 million versus $253.3 million at the end of the second quarter of 2014. The lower cash balance reflects the use of approximately $215 million of cash during the first quarter of 2015 to redeem the remaining Senior Notes due 2018. This redemption eliminates approximately $19 million of interest expense annually.
• Capital expenditures totaled $50.9 million for the twenty-six weeks ended August 1, 2015, compared to $59.5 million for the twenty-six weeks ended August 2, 2014.
• Inventory was $272.0 million compared to $239.9 million at the end of the prior year's second quarter, and includes approximately $42.4 million related to Express Factory Outlet stores this year compared to approximately $13.6 million in the prior year's second quarter.

2015 Guidance:

The table below compares the Company's projected results for the thirteen week period ended October 31, 2015 to the actual results for the thirteen week period ended November 1, 2014.

This guidance does not take into account any additional non-core operating items that may occur.

The table below compares the Company's projected results for the 52 week period ended January 30, 2016 to the actual results for the 52 week period ended January 31, 2015.

This guidance does not take into account any additional non-core operating items that may occur.

See Schedule 5 for a discussion of projected real estate activity.

Conference Call Information:

A conference call to discuss second quarter 2015 results is scheduled for Wednesday August 26, 2015, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET). Investors and analysts interested in participating in the call are invited to dial (877) 705-6003 approximately ten minutes prior to the start of the call. The conference call will also be webcast live at:

http://www.express.com/investor and remain available for 90 days. A telephone replay of this call will be available from 12:00 p.m. ET on August 26, 2015 until 11:59 p.m. ET on September 2, 2015 and can be accessed by dialing (877) 870-5176 and entering replay pin number 13615851.

About Express, Inc.:

Express is a specialty apparel and accessories retailer of women's and men's merchandise, targeting the 20 to 30 year old customer. Express has over 30 years of experience offering a distinct combination of fashion and quality for multiple lifestyle occasions at an attractive value addressing fashion needs across work, casual, jeanswear, and going-out occasions. The Company currently operates more than 600 retail and factory outlet stores, located primarily in high-traffic shopping malls, lifestyle centers, and street locations across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Express merchandise is also available at franchise locations in the Middle East, Latin America, and South Africa. Express also markets and sells its products through its e-commerce website, www.express.com, as well as on its mobile apps.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Certain statements are "forward-looking statements" made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact and include, but are not limited to, (1) guidance for the third quarter and full year 2015, including statements regarding expected comparable sales, effective tax rates, interest expense, net income, adjusted net income, earnings per diluted share, adjusted earnings per diluted share, and capital expenditures, (2) statements regarding expected store openings, store closures, and gross square footage, and (3) statements regarding the Company's future plans and initiatives, including, but not limited to, the Company's growth strategies and results expected from such strategies. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions, which may not prove to be accurate. These statements are not guarantees and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict, and significant contingencies, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from these forward-looking statements. Among these factors are (1) changes in consumer spending and general economic conditions; (2) our ability to identify and respond to new and changing fashion trends, customer preferences, and other related factors; (3) fluctuations in our sales, results of operations, and cash levels on a seasonal basis and due to a variety of other factors, including, our product offerings relative to customer demand, the mix of merchandise we sell, and promotions; (4) competition from other retailers; (5) customer traffic at malls, shopping centers, and at our stores and customer traffic to our website; (6) our dependence on a strong brand image; (7) our ability to develop and maintain a reliable omni-channel experience for our customers; (8) the failure or breach of information systems upon which we rely; (9) our ability to protect customer data from fraud and theft; (10) our dependence upon third parties to manufacture all of our merchandise; (11) changes in the cost of raw materials, labor, and freight; (12) supply chain disruption; (13) our dependence upon key executive management; (14) our growth strategy, including our new store, e-commerce, and international expansion plans; (15) our reliance on third parties to provide us with certain key services for our business; (16) claims made against us resulting in litigation or changes in laws and regulations applicable to our business; (17) our inability to protect our trademarks or other intellectual property rights which may preclude the use of our trademarks or other intellectual property around the world; (18) impairment charges on long-lived assets; (19) substantial lease obligations; (20) changes in tax requirements, results of tax audits, and other factors that may cause fluctuations in our effective tax rates; and (21) restrictions imposed on us under the terms of our asset-based loan facility. Additional information concerning these and other factors can be found in Express, Inc.'s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.

Schedule 4

Supplemental Information - Consolidated Statements of Income 
Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company supplements the reporting of its financial information determined under United States generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) with certain non-GAAP financial measures: adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per diluted share. The Company believes that these non-GAAP measures provide meaningful information to assist stockholders in understanding its financial results and assessing its prospects for future performance. Management believes adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per diluted share are important indicators of the Company's operations because they exclude items that may not be indicative of, or are unrelated to, the Company's core operating results and provide a better baseline for analyzing trends in the underlying business. Because non-GAAP financial measures are not standardized, it may not be possible to compare these financial measures with other companies' non-GAAP financial measures having the same or similar names. These adjusted financial measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net income and earnings per diluted share. These non-GAAP financial measures reflect an additional way of viewing an aspect of the Company's operations that, when viewed with the GAAP results and reconciliations to the corresponding GAAP financial measures below, provide a more complete understanding of the Company's business. Management strongly encourages investors and stockholders to review the Company's financial statements and publicly-filed reports in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure.

(a)  Includes the redemption premium paid, the write-off of unamortized debt issuance costs, and the write-off of the unamortized debt discount related to the redemption of all $200.9 million of our Senior Notes.

* Items were tax affected at our statutory rate of approximately 39% for the twenty-six weeks ended August 1, 2015.

(a)  Includes the redemption premium paid, the write-off of unamortized debt issuance costs, and the write-off of the unamortized debt discount related to the redemption of all $200.9 million of our Senior Notes.

* Items were tax affected at our statutory rate of approximately 39% for the fifty-two weeks ended January 30, 2016.

** Represents mid-point of guidance range.

SOURCE Express, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.express.com