Jones Apparel Group Inc. (JNY) Wednesday reported a wider loss for the fourth quarter, hurt by goodwill impairment charges, restructuring costs and other expenses. On an adjusted basis, the apparel maker's loss per share was smaller than the Street estimates. The company also witnessed a significant decline in revenues for the fourth quarter.
Jones Apparel's net loss for the quarter was $822.9 million, or $10.08 per share, compared with a net loss of $89.8 million, or $1.06 per share, last year. For the third quarter, Jones Apparel's net income was $27.3 million, or $0.33 per share.
Loss from continuing operations reached $822.8 million, or $10.08 per share, versus $85.8 million, or $1.01 per share, for the same period of fiscal 2007.
Excluding impairments of goodwill and trademarks in the footwear and accessories businesses, the impact of severance and other expenses related to restructuring activities, repositioning of the l.e.i. brand and certain other charges, the company's adjusted loss from continuing operations was $0.04 per share, compared with $0.09 per share in the prior-year quarter.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report a loss of $0.05 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
The New York-based wholesaler of apparel expected a fourth-quarter loss from continuing operations in the range of $10.11 - $10.07 per share. Adjusted loss per share from continuing operations was expected between $0.03 and $0.06.
Quarterly total revenues rose to $847 million from $839 million for the fourth quarter of 2007. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $826.82 million for the quarter. The company had reported revenues of $965 million for the third quarter.
Jones Apparel's fourth-quarter net sales totaled $830.5 million, up from $822.4 million in the previous year. Licensing income was $15.6 million, compared with last year's $15.2 million.
Wesley Card, Jones Apparel Group President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Our fourth quarter results are in line with the guidance we provided last month. Consistent with the retail industry in general, our operating results were heavily impacted by the highly promotional climate and weak holiday season."
Business wise, Wholesale Better Apparel posted total revenues of $258.1 million in the fourth quarter. Wholesale Jeanswear generated revenues of $202.4 million and Wholesale Footwear & Accessories recorded revenues of $218.9 million. Further, Retail revenues were $200.7 million for the quarter.
The company said its Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.05 per share, payable on March 13 to stockholders of record as of February 27.
For fiscal 2008, the company's net loss was $765.4 million, or $9.23 per share, compared with a net income of $311.1 million, or $3.07 per share, a year ago. Full-year net sales declined to $3.56 billion from $3.79 billion in the previous year. Wall Street analysts projected yearly earnings of $0.86 per share on revenues of $3.60 billion.
Following others, Jones Apparel also has announced cost reduction actions, including job cuts, to save around $33 million annually in order to weather the exacerbating economic downtrend. The management has also decided to reduce its quarterly cash dividend to $0.05 per share from $0.14 per share, in a bid to enhance its financial flexibility. Among rivals, AnnTaylor Stores Corp. (ANN) on November 21 withdrew its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings guidance, citing the current volatility and uncertainty. Wall Street analysts expect the company to report a loss of $0.55 per share for the quarter on sales of $488.68 million.
Another peer Brown Shoe Co. Inc. (BWS) announced preliminary consolidated net sales of $521 million for the fourth quarter. The company also updated its capital containment initiatives, which included workforce reduction, changes in compensation structure and rationalization of operating expenses to yield annual savings in the range of $28 million - $31 million. The company now expects that the workforce reduction program will impact 12% to 14% of its domestic workforce in business areas across the enterprise, excluding stores and distribution centers.
Liz Claiborne Inc. (LIZ) also implemented additional cost reduction initiatives that include 725 job cuts or 8% of its U.S. workforce, in an effort to pull itself out of the volatile economic environment. Liz Claiborne on January 13, revised down its fourth-quarter earnings outlook, citing a challenging operating environment and highly promotional retail environment. The company currently expects adjusted results from continuing operations in the range of breakeven to $0.15 loss per share, compared with the previous earnings guidance of $0.19 - $0.24 per share.
Jones Apparel is trading at $3.62, up $0.36, on a volume of 285,118 shares. For the past 52 weeks, the stock has been trading between $2.34 and $22.12.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.