Destination Maternity Corporation the world's leading maternity apparel retailer reported sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2013 ended June 30, 2013, and announced that it expects its third quarter fiscal 2013 earnings to be in the top half of its prior earnings guidance range and to significantly exceed last year's third quarter earnings.
Net sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2013 increased 2.2% to $141.9 million from $138.8 million reported for the third quarter of fiscal 2012
The increase in total reported sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2013 compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2012 resulted primarily from the increase in comparable sales, partially offset by decreased sales related to the Company's continued efforts to close underperforming stores, and decreased sales due to the closure of all of the Company's remaining leased departments within Babies"R"Us stores during the month of October 2012.
Net sales for the first nine months of fiscal 2013 decreased 0.2% to $412.0 million from $413.0 million reported for the first nine months of fiscal 2012.
The slight decrease in total reported sales for the first nine months of fiscal 2013 compared to the first nine months of fiscal 2012 resulted primarily from decreased sales related to the Company's continued efforts to close underperforming stores, and decreased sales due to the closure of all of the Company's remaining leased departments within Babies"R"Us stores during the month of October 2012, substantially offset by the increase in comparable sales.
Ed Krell, Chief Executive Officer of Destination Maternity, noted, "We are pleased with our continued positive comparable sales results and our strong earnings performance, with our expected earnings for the third quarter in the top half of our prior earnings guidance range.
“For the quarter, our sales were near the top end of our sales guidance range and we expect our diluted earnings per share for the third quarter to be in the top half of our prior earnings guidance range of $0.56 to $0.64 per share that we provided in our April 25, 2013 press release, reflecting a significant increase versus last year's third quarter diluted earnings of $0.52 per share.
"This represents our fourth consecutive quarter of achieving both a comparable sales increase and a significant increase in earnings over the prior year, showing the continued progress we have made with our sales initiatives, while maintaining strong operational and expense discipline.
"Our progress in improving our comparable sales results can be seen by our adjusted comparable sales increases of 5.3% for the third quarter and 3.9% for the first nine months of fiscal 2013, both adjusted for the calendar timing shift as described later in this press release.
"Our total sales of $141.9 million for the third quarter were near the top end of our sales guidance range of $138 to $142 million provided in our April 25 press release, primarily due to our reported comparable sales increase of 4.9%, which was near the top end of our guidance range for a comparable sales increase of between 2% and 5% for the quarter."
