Kirkland's Q1 Profit Up, Backs FY14 EPS View; To Buy Back Up To $30 Mln Shares

(RTTNews) - Kirkland's Inc. (KIRK) reported that net income for the first-quarter ended May 3, 2014 was $2.1 million or $0.12 per share, up from $1.8 million, or $0.10 per share in the first-quarter ended May 4, 2013.

Net sales for the quarter increased 6.9% to $108.3 million compared with $101.2 million last year. Comparable store sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2014, including e-commerce sales, increased 5.0% compared with a decrease of 2.3% in the prior-year quarter.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.10 per share and revenues of $105.90 million for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The Company also announced that its Board authorized a stock repurchase plan providing for the purchase in the aggregate of up to $30 million of the Company's outstanding common stock over the next 24 months. As of May 21, 2014, the Company had 17.3 million common shares outstanding.

The Company issued guidance for the second quarter ending August 2, 2014, of a net loss of $0.03 to $0.06 per share. Net sales are expected to be in the range of $104 million to $105 million with a comparable store sales increase in the range of 3% to 4%. The Company expects to open approximately 8 stores and close approximately 2 stores during the quarter. Analysts expect the company to report loss of $0.02 per share and revenues of $103.81 million for the second-quarter.

For the 52-week period ending January 31, 2015 or "fiscal 2014", the company expects to achieve approximately 10% square footage growth with 35 to 40 new store openings and 10 to 15 store closings. New store openings will be weighted more toward the second half of the year, and store closings will be weighted more toward the first half of the year.

The Company still expects fiscal 2014 earnings per share to be in the range of $0.90 to $1.00. Total sales for fiscal 2014 are still expected to increase approximately 8% to 10% compared with fiscal 2013. This level of sales performance would imply a comparable store sales increase of approximately 3% to 5% for fiscal 2014.

Analysts expect the company to report earnings of $0.98 per share and revenues of $500.56 million for fiscal 2014.