Ames' President and CEO Reports to Shareholders Cites 1998 As Year of Record Operating Results
ROCKY HILL, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 16, 1999
--Joseph R. Ettore, the President and Chief Executive officer of Ames Department Stores, Inc., (NASDAQ: AMES - news), the country's largest regional discount retailer, today announced that sales for 1998 rose to a record 2.5 billion dollars in 1998, an increase of $274 million dollars over 1997. Speaking before shareholders at the company's annual meeting, Ettore highlighted the company's strong operational performance in 1998, which along with the acquisition of Hills Stores Company continues Ames' aggressive plan for future growth.
Commenting on the company's 1998 performance, Ettore said, ''Fiscal 1998 will go down in company history as a defining year in our development. Last year, the 40th Anniversary year of Ames' founding, was a period of record operating results. It was a year that established Ames as the largest regional discount retailer in the United States.'' Ettore continued, ''1998 was a also a year when Wall Street recognized our hard work as the stock price moved into record territory, a rise that has continued into 1999.''
Ettore pointed to a number of financial highlights for 1998 including: 1998 sales of $2.5 billion, a $274 million increase over 1997; total net income increase for Ames core business of 39%, which is $.53 cents a share better than fiscal 1997; and growth in total assets from $600 million to nearly $1.5 billion, an increase of 143 %.
Ettore also described the acquisition of Hills Stores Company in 1998 as a perfect fit for Ames and the key to the company's continuing strategy of well-planned, well-financed growth that will serve the company in good stead as it moves into the next millennium.
My comment follows:
Frankly I'm quite surprised AMES didn't reward their loyal shareholders with at LEAST a 25 or 50% stock dividend at the annual meeting. It's the least they could have done. Perhaps there is a restrictive covenant in one of the loan agreements.
A disappointed MT |
