The Container Store’s fourth-quarter sales and earnings lagged year over year but were better on a two-year basis.
For the fourth quarter, net income was $23.2 million, or 46 cents per diluted share, versus $35.1 million, or 69 cents per diluted share, in the year-before period. Adjusted for one-time events, net income was $23.2 million, or 46 cents per diluted share, versus $35.7 million, or 71 cents per diluted share, in the year-previous quarter. Two-years prior, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $12.5 million, or 26 cents per diluted share, Container Store pointed out.
Adjusted dilutes earnings per share topped a MarketBeat-published analyst consensus of 26 cents.
Net sales were $305.5 million versus $314.7 million in the year-earlier period.
For the full year, net income was $81.7 million, or $1.62 per diluted share, versus $58.3 million, or $1.17 per diluted share, in the year before, the company reported.
Adjusted net income was $82.9 million, or $1.65 per diluted share, versus $61.8 million, or $1.24 per diluted share in the year previous. Two-years prior, adjusted earnings were $14.8 million, or 30 cents per diluted share, Container Store pointed out.
Net income was $1.09 billion versus $990.1 billion in the year earlier.
Satish Malhotra, Container store CEO and president, said, “We are very pleased with our stronger than expected fourth-quarter performance which capped off the best year of sales and profitability in company history. The results demonstrate the progress we are making toward our goal of doubling our sales to $2 billion, and in fiscal 2021 we proudly exceeded $1 billion in sales for the first time. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, custom closet sales were up 3.6% when compared to fiscal 2020 driven by our successful Transform with Elfa event, despite limiting the depth and breadth of the promotions. On February 22, we launched our new branding campaign, Welcome to The Organization, with a 22% off welcome offer that drove record-breaking single-day sales. We followed up the branding campaign with the launch of a reimagined loyalty program, Organized Insider, and our first mobile app. Fiscal 2021 was a banner year that we believe has established a solid foundation for growth at The Container Store.”
Malhotra continued, “While fiscal 2022 will be a unique year as we contend with a dynamic macro backdrop, we will focus on our strategic initiatives to drive growth and market share gains. We will continue to emphasize the power of organization and demonstrate The Container Store’s leadership within the $20 billion addressable market of home storage and organization. With only 5% of total market share today, we are confident in the opportunity ahead to grow sales to $2 billion by fiscal 2027. We are excited to return to store growth with a plan to open two new stores in fiscal 2022, and a plan for an additional 74 new stores by fiscal 2027. This growth coupled with our more productive store base and disciplined expense management is expected to result in low double-digit operating margins over time as inflationary headwinds abate.”
