2023-06-07 10:11:26 ET
Vera Bradley ( NASDAQ: VRA ) stock rocketed to a nearly 20% gain on Wednesday after raising profit forecasts for the year ahead.
For the first quarter, an adjusted loss per share of $0.09 was $0.11 lighter than what analysts had anticipated. Meanwhile, a 4.2% decline in sales year over year to $94.36M narrowly missed expectations as comparable sales slipped 3.3% year over year. However, inventory levels fell 12% from the prior year quarter and gross margins expanded 150 basis points.
“We are pleased that meaningful gross margin expansion and diligent expense control led to significant year-over-year improvement in bottom-line performance for the quarter,” CEO Jackie Ardrey said. “On the revenue side, Vera Bradley factory stores experienced challenging traffic trends in March and April that led to weaker-than-expected performance for the quarter. This was partially offset, however, by several positive highlights in other areas of our business.”“
He added that the Pura Vida brand saw strong performance with e-commerce sales picking up into the quarter. The company also closed a number of stores to right-size its footprint and focus on profit improvement.
For fiscal year 2024, the company expects consolidated net revenues of $490M to $510M against a consensus of $500.75M.
The company also expects between 140 and 240 basis points of improvement in gross profits from fiscal 2023 to between 52.8% and 53.8%, raised from 52.6% to 53.6% in prior forecasts. Consolidated diluted EPS of $0.57 to $0.67 are expected for the year, up from a prior forecast of between $0.40 and $0.50. The new EPS forecast also comes in well above the $0.43 consensus expectation.
Shares of Vera Bradley ( VRA ) rocketed 16.41% higher shortly after the market open on Wednesday.
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Vera Bradley stock surges 10%+ on profit beat, boosted guidance