Dillard’s beat an analyst earnings estimate in the third quarter, although sales and earnings declined versus the prior-year period.
Net income was $155.3 million, or $9.49 per diluted share, versus $187.9 billion, or $10.96 per diluted share, the company reported.
An analyst consensus estimate published by Yahoo Finance looked for earnings per diluted share of $6.70 and sales of $1.51 billion.
Comparable-store sales for Dillard’s decreased 6%. Net sales were $1.48 billion, and total retail sales, excluding revenue from the company’s CDI Contractors construction business, were $1.41 billion, versus $1.54 billion and $1.5 billion, respectively, in the year-earlier quarter.
In announcing the financial results, Dillard’s CEO William Dillard said, “The sales environment remained challenging in the third quarter with particular weakness beginning in September. Our focus on producing profitable sales with inventory control paid off with retail gross margin of 45.3% and inventory down 1% year over year. We repurchased $48 million of stock and had $893 million of cash and short-term investments remaining.”
