Charming Shoppes Reports Second Quarter Results

BENSALEM, Pa., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Charming Shoppes, Inc. (Nasdaq: CHRS) a leading multi-brand apparel retailer specializing in women's plus-size apparel, today reported sales and operating results for the three and six month periods ended July 31, 2010.

Commenting on the results for the quarter, Jim Fogarty, President and Chief Executive Officer of Charming Shoppes, Inc. said, "With our strong balance sheet and liquidity, Charming Shoppes is an operating turnaround, and my team and I are focused on the success of that turnaround. While we were very disappointed by our EBITDA performance in the quarter, we delivered our first positive comp result in 15 quarters, and stabilized both our top line and our customer base.  Our customer base had declined significantly during 2009, and in order to stem the decline, we went on 'offense' with our assortments, we were more promotional, and we invested in additional marketing.  Our year-round and seasonal core assortments generally performed well.  However, our teams struggled with seasonal non-core merchandise, including novelty and fashion tops and bottoms, and we ultimately were over-receipted in the depth of those choices.  In addition, EBITDA was further impacted by heavier discounting than expected to effectively clear seasonal merchandise in an already promotional environment.

"We are addressing our second quarter merchandising issues and are continuing to generally improve our assortments – focusing on the right products in the right quantities. In the second half of 2010, we are relaunching our Right Fit denim and career pants with a strong offering of petite and tall lengths at Lane Bryant and Fashion Bug.  We are also presenting a broader footwear assortment in 500 Lane Bryant stores, and have relaunched our Juniors assortment in 300 Fashion Bug stores.  

"We remain focused on our key priorities: (1) Focus on the Customer; (2) Stabilize and Begin to Grow Profitable Revenue; (3) Increase EBITDA; (4) Increase Cash Flow; and (5) Talent.  While adjusted EBITDA was disappointing, we made progress focusing on our customer and stabilizing our revenue base.  We ended the quarter with cash in excess of debt of $42 million, versus debt in excess of cash of $33 million at the end of 2009, an improvement of $75 million.  Finally, we made a number of important executive changes during the quarter, including the appointments of a new President at Fashion Bug, a new President at Outlets, and a new Executive Vice President, Merchandising and Product Development, at Fashion Bug."

Second Quarter Consolidated Results

• Net sales for the three months ended July 31, 2010 decreased $9.7 million or 1.8% to $517.6 million, compared to $527.2 million for the three months ended August 1, 2009.  The decrease in sales was primarily as a result of the impact of 150 net store closings during the last four quarters, somewhat offset by a 3% increase in comparable retail segment sales (including store-related e-commerce sales).  Comparable store sales increased 1%, and e-commerce sales increased 36% to $30.5 million, compared to $22.3 million in the year ago period.
• Gross profit decreased $14.7 million, or 5.6% to $249.1 million in the quarter, compared to $263.9 million in the same quarter last year, reflecting a decrease in the gross margin rate, as well as lower sales volumes.  The gross margin decreased by 190 basis points to 48.1% for the quarter ended July 31, 2010, compared to 50.0% for the quarter ended August 1, 2009.  The year over year change was related to lower gross margins at each of the Company's retail brands as a result of increased promotions, higher than planned markdowns, and a generally increased cost to clear seasonal merchandise.
• Total operating expenses, excluding restructuring charges, increased $2.2 million, or 0.9% to $255.8 million in the quarter, compared to $253.6 million in the same quarter last year.  The change is related to an increase in Selling, General and Administrative expense of $12.7 million, or 9.5% associated with incremental advertising investments, and lower income from credit operations primarily related to differences in the timing of income; somewhat offset by a decrease in Occupancy and Buying expense of $8.2 million, or 8.2% associated with lower rent expense as a result of the operation of fewer stores and lease renegotiations (refer to GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation, below).
• The quarter ended July 31, 2010 included restructuring charges of $0.6 million, primarily for lease termination charges related to the Company's store closing program as announced on March 30, 2010.  The quarter ended August 1, 2009 included restructuring charges of $7.8 million related to previously announced consolidation and streamlining initiatives.
• Adjusted EBITDA (refer to GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation, below) was $10.3 million in the quarter, reflecting a decrease of $19.2 million, or 65.2% compared to the prior year period, primarily related to decreases in gross profit.  Adjusted EBITDA as a percent of sales decreased 360 basis points to 2.0%.
• Loss from operations, excluding restructuring charges, was $6.7 million, compared to Income from operations, excluding restructuring charges, of $10.3 million in the prior year period, a decrease of $17.0 million (refer to GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation, below).
• Net loss on a GAAP basis was $(8.6) million, or $(0.07) per diluted share for the second quarter, compared to net income on a GAAP basis of $5.0 million, or $0.04 per diluted share in the prior year period. Net loss was impacted by a decrease in gross profit and a decrease in the gain on repurchase of debt, somewhat offset by lower restructuring charges and an income tax benefit.
• The Company repurchased $49.2 million face value of the Company's 1.125% Senior Convertible Notes (the "Notes") during the quarter for a purchase price of $38.3 million. To date, as of the end of July, the Company has repurchased Notes with an aggregate principal amount of $134.5 million for an aggregate purchase price of $88.9 million. The quarter ended July 31, 2010 included gains on repurchases of the Company's Notes of $1.9 million.  The quarter ended August 1, 2009 included gains on repurchases of the Notes of $7.3 million.
• The Company's cash position for the quarter ended July 31, 2010 increased to $210 million, compared to $187 million for the period ended January 30, 2010.  During the quarter the Company received a $45 million tax refund, primarily related to a federal income tax loss carryback.
• Total liquidity grew to $358 million, including $210 million in cash and $148 million of net availability under the Company's undrawn committed line of credit.

Commenting on the Company's performance and liquidity, Eric M. Specter, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer said, "We are addressing our performance through improved assortment planning disciplines and by pulling back on a portion of our planned receipts of non-core assortments for the second half of this year.  Concurrently, we are better positioning our sourcing teams to be more nimble and chase product on the upside.

"Our liquidity continued to increase and remained at very healthy levels throughout the period, and included $210 million in cash and net availability of $148 million on our fully committed and undrawn revolving line of credit. Our strong liquidity allowed us to opportunistically repurchase $49.2 million of principal amount of Notes during the quarter at a 22% discount, for a cash purchase price of $38.3 million. To date, we have reduced the principal amount of the Notes from an initial $275.0 million to $140.5 million."

First Half Consolidated Results

• Net sales for the six months ended July 31, 2010 decreased $43.0 million or 4.0% to $1.022 billion, compared to $1.065 billion for the six months ended August 1, 2009.  
• Comparable retail segment sales, which include the Company's retail stores' e-commerce sales, increased 1% for the six months, compared to a 13% decrease in the prior year six month period.  Comparable store sales decreased 1% for the six months, compared to a comparable store sales decrease of 14% in the prior year period, and e-commerce sales increased 36% to $62.1 million, compared to $45.6 million in the year ago period.
• Gross profit decreased $25.7 million, or 4.7% to $525.7 million in the first half, compared to $551.4 million in the same period last year, reflecting a decrease in the gross margin rate, as well as lower sales volumes.  The gross margin decreased by 40 basis points to 51.4% for the half ended July 31, 2010.  
• Total operating expenses, excluding restructuring charges, decreased $9.7 million, or 1.8% to $524.0 million in the first half, compared to $533.7 million in the same period last year, (refer to GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation, below).
• Adjusted EBITDA (refer to GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation, below) was $35.5 million in the first half, reflecting a decrease of $21.6 million, or 37.8%, primarily related to decreases in gross profit.  Adjusted EBITDA as a percent of sales decreased 190 basis points to 3.5%.
• Net loss on a GAAP basis was $(4.7) million, or $(0.04) per diluted share for the first half, compared to net loss on a GAAP basis of $(1.6) million, or $(0.01) per diluted share in the prior year period.  Net loss on a GAAP basis, including restructuring charges, increased by $3.2 million, impacted by a decrease in gross profit, a decrease in the gain on repurchase of debt and somewhat offset by lower operating expenses and the recording of a tax benefit in the current period compared to a tax provision in the year ago period.

Sales results for the three and six month periods ended July 31, 2010 and August 1, 2009 were:

Charming Shoppes, Inc. will host its second quarter earnings conference call today at 9:15 am Eastern time.  To listen to the conference call, please dial 877-407-8293 approximately 10 minutes prior to the scheduled event.  The conference call will also be simulcast and rebroadcast at http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=106124&p=irol-audioArchives  The general public is invited to listen to the conference call via the webcast or the dial-in telephone number.

A transcript of prepared remarks for the conference call will be accessible at http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=106124&p=irol-audioArchives following today's conference call.

The conference call will be recorded on behalf of Charming Shoppes, Inc. and consists of copyrighted material.  It may not be re-recorded, reproduced, transmitted or rebroadcast, in whole or in part, without the Company's express written permission.  Accessing this call or the rebroadcast constitutes consent to these terms and conditions.  Participation in this call serves as consent to having any comments or statements made appear on any transcript, broadcast or rebroadcast of this call.

At July 31, 2010, Charming Shoppes, Inc. operated 2,108 retail stores in 48 states under the names LANE BRYANT®, CACIQUE®, LANE BRYANT OUTLET®, FASHION BUG®, FASHION BUG PLUS® and CATHERINES PLUS SIZES®.  The company also operates the Figi's family of brands, including the holiday food and gifts catalog Figi's® Gifts in Good Taste®, the home and gifts catalog Figi's® Gallery and its wholesale unit Figi's Business Services. During the six months ended July 31, 2010 the Company opened 2, relocated 5, converted 28 and closed 43 retail stores.  The Company ended the period with 849 Lane Bryant and Lane Bryant Outlet stores, 779 Fashion Bug and Fashion Bug Plus stores and 480 Catherines stores, comprising approximately 13,728,000 square feet of leased space.  For more information about Charming Shoppes and its brands, please visit www.charmingshoppes.com, www.lanebryant.com, www.cacique.com, www.fashionbug.com, www.catherines.com, www.loop18.com, www.figis.com, and www.figisgallery.com.

*SEC REGULATION G -- Charming Shoppes, Inc. reports its financial results in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). However, management believes that non-GAAP performance measures, which exclude certain charges that the Company does not consider part of its ongoing operating results when assessing the performance of the Company, present the operating results of the Company on a basis consistent with those used in managing the Company's business, and provide users of the Company's financial information with a more meaningful report on the condition of the Company's business. We believe that adjusted EBITDA, along with other measures, provides a useful pre-tax measure of our ongoing operating performance and our ability to meet debt service and capital requirements on a comparable basis excluding the impact of certain items and capital-related non-cash charges.  We use adjusted EBITDA, along with other measures, to monitor and evaluate the performance of our business operations and we believe that it enhances our investors' ability to analyze trends in our business, compare our performance to other companies in our industry, and evaluate our ability to service our debt and capital needs.  Non-GAAP financial measures should be viewed in addition to, and not as an alternative for, the Company's reported results prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains and the Company's conference call may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 concerning the Company's operations, performance, and financial condition. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated. Such risks and uncertainties may include, but are not limited to: the failure to realize the benefits from the sale of our credit card program to, and the operation of our credit card program by, our third-party provider, the impact of changes in laws and regulations governing credit cards could limit the availability of, or increase the cost of, credit to our customers,  the failure to implement the Company's business plan for increased profitability and growth in the Company's retail stores segment, including store-related e-commerce, and direct-to-consumer segment, the failure to enhance the Company's merchandise and marketing and accurately predict fashion trends, customer preferences and other fashion-related factors, the failure of growth in the women's plus apparel market, the failure to continue receiving financing at an affordable cost through the availability of credit we receive from our bankers, suppliers and their agents, the failure to effectively implement our planned store closing plans, the failure to continue receiving accurate and compliant e-commerce and third-party processing services,  the failure to achieve improvement in the Company's competitive position, the failure to maintain efficient and uninterrupted order-taking and fulfillment in our e-commerce and direct-to-consumer businesses, extreme or unseasonable weather conditions, economic downturns, escalation of energy and transportation costs, adverse changes in the costs or availability of fabrics and raw materials, a weakness in overall consumer demand, the failure to find suitable store locations, increases in wage rates, the ability to hire and train associates, trade and security restrictions and political or financial instability in countries where goods are manufactured, the failure of our vendors to deliver quality and timely shipments in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, the interruption of merchandise flow from the Company's centralized distribution facilities and third-party distribution providers, inadequate systems capacity, inability to protect trademarks or other intellectual property, competitive pressures, and the adverse effects of natural disasters, war, acts of terrorism or threats of either, or other armed conflict, on the United States and international economies. These, and other risks and uncertainties, are detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other Company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Charming Shoppes assumes no duty to update or revise its forward-looking statements even if experience or future changes make it clear that any projected results expressed or implied therein will not be realized.

SOURCE Charming Shoppes, Inc.