Sales and earnings slipped in Qurate Retail’s second quarter as QVC and HSN combined sales declined.
Company net earnings were $20 million, or five cents per diluted share, versus $107 million, or 28 cents per diluted share, in the year-previous quarter.
A Yahoo Finance-published analyst consensus estimate was for earnings of seven cents per share and revenue of $2.46 billion.
Total revenue was $2.41 billion versus $2.54 billion in the year-earlier quarter, the company stated. With sales from divested Zulily included, revenue in the year-past quarter was $2.65 billion. Operating income was $165 million versus $380 million a year prior. With sales from Zulily excluded, operating income in the year-past quarter was $366 million.
QxH revenue, which includes results from QVC and HSN, declined 4% to $1.56 billion. Also down was QVC International revenue, by 5% to $576 million, and Cornerstone, by 14%, to $273 million.
“We delivered a solid quarter of earnings in a continued challenged macro environment,” said Qurate Retail president and CEO David Rawlinson in announcing the financial results. “While revenue was in line with overall discretionary retail, we expanded gross margins for the fifth consecutive quarter, generated $165 million in operating income, grew Adjusted OIBDA for the fourth consecutive quarter and reduced net debt. We remain focused on enhancing our merchandise assortment, improving product margins and diligently managing costs. We are also excited about the opportunity to better serve our core customers of women over fifty as part of the QVC Age of Possibility campaign we launched in April.”
