Claire's Stores Reports First Quarter Net
Income Up 23%; Sales Up 17%, Per Share
Income Up 21%
PEMBROKE PINES, Fla., May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Claire's Stores, Inc.
(NYSE:CLE) reported today it earned net income of $8,153,000 for the
three month quarter ended May 3, 1997, 23 percent higher than the net
income of $6,650,000 reported for the first quarter of Fiscal 1997,
ended May 4, 1996. Per share earnings were $.17 for the first quarter of
Fiscal 1998 versus $.14 for the comparable three months last year, a 21
percent increase.
Sales were a first quarter record $108,003,000, up 17 percent from
$92,381,000 in the previous year's first three month period. Same store
sales were 8 percent up from last year.
Rowland Schaefer, Claire's chairman and chief executive, said he was
pleased by the first quarter's results and confident that the company's
record setting pace will continue. ``Fiscal 1997 was our fourth
consecutive year of record sales and earnings and all indications are that
Fiscal 1998 should continue that success,'' he said. ``Our business is
strong in all departments. Inventories are where we want them to be and
gross profit margins are continuing to improve. Our expansion is
proceeding on plan. New stores we have opened so far this year all are
performing well, both domestically and internationally, and we are
continuing our aggressive search for appropriate acquisition candidates,
also both in the United States and abroad.''
Claire's Stores, Inc., the nation's premier retailer specializing in
women's fashion accessories, currently owns and operates 1575 stores
in 49 states, the Caribbean, Canada, Japan, England, Scotland and Wales.
CLAIRE'S STORES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
QUARTER ENDED MAY 3, 1997
(Unaudited)
(In 000s except per share data and stores)
THREE MONTHS ENDED
May 3, 1997 May 4, 1996
Net Sales $108,003 $92,398
Income Before Income Taxes 13,045 10,725
Net Income 8,153 6,650
Earnings Per Share .17 .14
Weighted Average Shares
Outstanding 48,042 47,483
Stores Open at End of Period 1,575 1,423
SOURCE: Claire's Stores, Inc.
More news for referenced ticker symbols: CLE, and related industries:
Another set of good numbers beat street by a penny.
Regards
Scott |
