Thursday, florist and gift retailer 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. (FLWS) posted a loss for the fourth quarter, reflecting lower revenues and margins owing to "a dramatic reduction in consumer demand reflecting the unprecedented economic turmoil throughout the world."
The Carle Place, New York-based company posted a quarterly net loss of $22.2 million or $0.35 per share, compared to net income of $4.3 million or $0.07 per share last year. Loss from continuing operations was $13.1 million or $0.21 per share, compared to income from continuing operations of $4.8 million or $0.07 per share in the prior year quarter.
On an adjusted basis, quarterly loss from continuing operations was $2.8 million or $0.04 per share, compared to income from continuing operations of $4.8 million or $0.07 per share in the earlier year. On an average, four analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected loss per share of $0.03. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
1-800-FLOWERS.COM's total net revenues, for the recent fourth quarter, declined 7.7% year-over-year to $172.5 million from $186.9 million, missing Street View of $189.66 million.
The decrease in quarterly revenues of 13.4% in Consumer Floral segment outweighed the improvement of 4.2% and 22% in BloomNet Wire Service and Gourmet Food and Gift Baskets segments, respectively. Quarterly gross profit margin plunged to 38.6% from 40.8% a year ago.
On a year-to-date basis, the company posted a net loss of $98.4 million or $1.55 per share on revenues of $498.5 million, compared with a net profit of $21.0 million or $0.32 per share on revenues of $584.2 million in the earlier year.
Looking forward, for the fiscal 2010, the company expects earnings per share from continuing operations to be more than 30% year-over-year on revenues ranging between flat and less than 5% year-over-year.
The company also expects to achieve strong bottom line growth in fiscal 2010 reflecting its successful programs to reduce operating expenses across the enterprise as well as reductions in working capital, with capital expenditures below $15 million.
FLWS is currently trading down 6.67% at $2.80, on the Nasdaq.
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