Despite flat comparable store sales, Dillard’s drove earnings higher in Q4.
Comparable store sales were flat in the quarter year over year. Net sales were $2.13 billion versus $2.11 billion in the year-before period. Total revenues were $2.16 billion versus $2.15 billion in the year-prior period. Stronger performing categories included cosmetics and ladies’ apparel while home and furniture were weaker.
Net income for the full year was $891.6 million, or $50.81 per share, versus $862.5 million, or $41.88 per share, in the year previous. Dillard’s noted. Comps increased 5% year over year. Net sales were $6.87 billion versus $6.49 billion, in the year before. Total Revenues were $7 billion versus $6.62 billion in the year prior.
In announcing the financial results, William Dillard, the company’s CEO, stated, “We are entering our 85th year of operation in a strong position with today’s results. Fiscal year earnings per share of $50.81 seemed impossible just a couple of years ago, but we have seen what we can do by controlling our inventory and focusing on our customer. From the resulting strong cash flow, we were happy to return $708 million to our shareholders, and the majority of them are our associates.”
Dillard’s announced plans to open a new 140,000-square-foot store at The Empire Mall in Sioux Falls, SD in the spring of 2024, which will put the company into its 30th state of operation. In addition, the company plans to close three stores in the 2023 first quarter, one each in Fort Walton Beach, FL, Grand Island, NE and Phoenix, AZ.
