Thursday, Cost Plus Inc. (CPWM), a home furnishings and entertaining products retailer, reported a narrower loss for the second-quarter despite a 13% decline in quarterly sales. The company also provided guidance for the third quarter. Cost Plus shares although up 34.80% at the close of markets, declined over 15% in after hours trading.
The Oakland, California-based company reported a second-quarter net loss of $20.76 million or $0.94 per share, compared to a loss of $26.64 million or $1.21 per share in the same quarter last year.
Net loss from continuing operations were $19.82 million or $0.90 per share, compared to a loss of $23.73 million or $1.07 per share in the year ago quarter.
Net sales for the quarter were $183.4 million, down 13.0% from $210.7 million in the comparable quarter last year. Same store sales for the quarter decreased 10.9%, compared to an increase of 1.2% last year. The decrease in same store sales was attributable to a 7.7% reduction in the average ticket per customer primarily due to lower dining and living furniture sales and a 3.4% decline in customer count.
For the quarter, gross profit margin as a percentage of net sales was 26.2%, compared to 27.0% in the previous year quarter. Selling, general and administrative expenses were $64.5 million, down from $76.2 million in the same quarter a year ago.
For the six-month period, the company reported a net loss of $62.34 million or $2.82 per share, compared to a loss of $58.63 million or $2.65 per share in the year ago period. Net sales for the period was $367.63 million, down from $412.54 million in the comparable period last year.
Looking ahead to the third quarter, the company expects net sales in the range of $177 million - $186 million with a loss from continuing operations before interest and taxes in the range of $19 million - $24 million.
Commenting on the results, Barry Feld, President and Chief Executive Officer said, "Despite the continued tough retail environment and its negative impact on same store sales, we were able to control expenses and improve merchandise margin to reduce our second quarter loss from continuing operations year-over-year."
CPWM closed Thursday's regular trading at $2.95, up $0.76 or 34.80%, on a volume of 0.13 million shares on the Nasdaq. In after hours, the share was down $0.45 or 15.25%, trading at $2.50.
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