Kate Spade & Company Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2014 Results and Provides 2015 Guidance

NEW YORK, March 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Kate Spade & Company (NYSE: KATE) today announced results for the fourth quarter and full year ended January 3, 2015.

Net sales for the fourth quarter of 2014 were $399 million, an increase of $123 million, or 44.7%, from the comparable 2013 period, reflecting increases of 50.5% in the Kate Spade North America segment and 56.0% in the Kate Spade International segment, partially offset by a decrease in net sales in the Adelington Design Group segment.  Fourth quarter 2014 direct-to-consumer comparable sales growth was 28%, or 21% excluding eCommerce. 

Adjusted EBITDA, net of foreign currency transaction adjustments, was $77 million or $85 million, excluding charges related to announced brand actions for the fourth quarter of 2014, compared to $55 million for the fourth quarter of 2013. Comparable Adjusted EBITDA, net of foreign currency transaction adjustments, was $57 million for the fourth quarter of 2013.

For the fourth quarter of 2014 on a GAAP basis, income from continuing operations was $126 million, or $0.99 per diluted share (which includes a benefit of $88 million resulting from the reversal of income tax reserves, due to the expiration of the related statutes of limitations), compared to income from continuing operations of $29 million, or $0.23 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2013. Adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations in the fourth quarter of 2014 were $0.24, compared to $0.13 in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Craig A. Leavitt, Chief Executive Officer of Kate Spade & Company, said:  "In 2014, we marked our first year as an independent company and our impressive growth reflects the powerful momentum of Kate Spade & Company.  We delivered industry-leading results with full year net sales of $1.139 billion, a 42% increase over the same period last year and Adjusted EBITDA of $147 million, a 67% increase over comparable Adjusted EBITDA last year.  We have demonstrated a disciplined approach to managing our investments as we further focus on the long-term growth potential of our kate spade new york brand."

Mr. Leavitt concluded: "We are rapidly becoming a powerful, global, multichannel lifestyle brand across women's, men's, children and home. We remain focused on a partnered approach to expanding our footprint and margins, including the agreements with best-in-class home partners we announced this morning and our recently announced watch license with Fossil Group. We continue to advance along our two axes of growth – product category expansion and geographic expansion – as we apply the right resources to targeted initiatives to maximize profitability and so that ours is a long-term growth story."

Net sales for the full year 2014 were $1.139 billion, an increase of $335 million, or 41.7%, from 2013, including an $18 million benefit associated with the additional week in 2014. Excluding the benefit of the additional week, full year 2014 direct-to-consumer comparable sales growth was 24%, or 22% excluding eCommerce.  Adjusted EBITDA, net of foreign currency transaction adjustments, was $147 million for the full year 2014, compared to $77 million for the full year 2013. Comparable Adjusted EBITDA, net of foreign currency transaction adjustments, was $88 million for 2013.  For the full year 2014, the Company recorded income from continuing operations of $77 million, or $0.60 per share, (which includes a net benefit of $87 million resulting from the reversal of income tax reserves, due to the expiration of the related statutes of limitations) compared to a loss from continuing operations in 2013 of ($32) million, or ($0.27) per share. Adjusted earnings per diluted share from continuing operations for 2014 were $0.25 compared to an adjusted loss per share from continuing operations of ($0.10) in 2013. 

George Carrara, President and Chief Operating Officer of Kate Spade & Company, added:  "I'm extremely pleased that Kate Spade & Company ended 2014 on such a strong note as we saw sales outperformance across geographies and delivered gross margins in the favorable end of our guided range.  In 2015, we expect to continue to build scale and start to realize the benefits of various strategies developed in 2014."

The Company will host a conference call at 8:30 am Eastern time today to discuss its results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2014. The dial-in number is 1-888-694-4676 with pass code 86298167. The webcast and slides accompanying the prepared remarks can be accessed via the Investor Relations section of the Kate Spade & Company website at www.katespadeandcompany.com. An archive of the webcast will be available on the website. Additional information on the results of the Company's operations is available in the Company's Form 10-K for the full year 2014, to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

The adjusted results for the fourth quarter 2014 and 2013, as well as forward-looking targets, exclude the impact of expenses incurred in connection with the Company's streamlining initiatives, brand-exiting activities, acquisition related costs, losses on extinguishment of debt, impairment of intangible assets, impairment of cost investment in 2013 and non-cash write-offs of debt issuance costs. The Company believes that the adjusted results for such periods represent a more meaningful presentation of its historical operations and financial performance since these results provide period to period comparisons that are consistent and more easily understood. The attached tables, captioned "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Information," provide a full reconciliation of actual results to the adjusted results. We present Adjusted EBITDA, which we define as income (loss) from continuing operations, adjusted to exclude income tax provision (benefit), interest expense, net, depreciation and amortization, net, losses on extinguishment of debt, expenses incurred in connection with the Company's streamlining initiatives, brand-exiting activities, acquisition related costs, non-cash impairment charges, losses on asset disposals and non-cash share-based compensation expense. We present Adjusted EBITDA, net of foreign currency transaction adjustments, which is Adjusted EBITDA further adjusted to exclude unrealized and certain realized foreign currency transaction adjustments, net. We also present Comparable Adjusted results (including Comparable Adjusted SG&A expense and operating income (loss)), which we use to measure our performance after giving effect to certain corporate cost savings. Comparable Adjusted SG&A, operating income (loss) and EBITDA are calculated by starting with adjusted results (which already exclude charges related to streamlining initiatives, brand-exiting activities and acquisition related costs) and includes adjustments to reflect the anticipated impact resulting from the Juicy Couture and Lucky Brand divestitures to show 2013 on a comparable basis to 2014. The annualized Corporate Adjusted EBITDA of ($53) million is consistent with our 2014 guidance for Corporate Adjusted EBITDA of ($50) to ($55) million, which included estimated amounts to be billed under the Transition Services Agreement ("TSA") for Lucky Brand and assumed ownership of Lucky Brand by the Company for the month of January 2014, followed by the implementation of the TSA for a period of up to 24 months thereafter. We present the above-described Adjusted EBITDA measures because we consider them important supplemental measures of our performance and believe they are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in our industry.

Segment Adjusted EBITDA excludes: (i) depreciation and amortization; (ii) charges due to streamlining initiatives, brand-exiting activities and acquisition related costs; and (iii) losses on asset disposals and impairments.  The costs of all corporate departments that serve the respective segment are fully allocated. We do not allocate amounts reported below Operating income (loss) to our reportable segments, other than equity income (loss) in our equity method investee. Our definition of Segment Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

FOURTH QUARTER RESULTS

Presentation of Segments

In conjunction with the sale of Lucky Brand and the substantial completion of the Juicy Couture wind-down in the second quarter of 2014, the Company disaggregated its former KATE SPADE reportable segment into two reportable segments, KATE SPADE North America and KATE SPADE International. The Company operates its kate spade new york, Kate Spade Saturday and Jack Spade brands through one operating segment in North America and four operating segments internationally, Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. The Company's Adelington Design Group reportable segment is also an operating segment. As such, the Company configured its operations into the following three reportable segments:

• Kate Spade North America segment – consists of the Company's kate spade new york, Kate Spade Saturday and Jack Spade brands in North America.
• Kate Spade International segment – consists of the Company's kate spade new york, Kate Spade Saturday and Jack Spade brands in International markets (principally in Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America).
• Adelington Design Group segment – consists of: (i) exclusive arrangements to supply jewelry for the Liz Claiborne and Monet brands; (ii) the wholesale apparel and wholesale non-apparel operations of the licensed Lizwear brand and other brands; and (iii) the licensed Liz Claiborne New York brand.

Overall Results

Net sales from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2014 were $399 million, an increase of $123 million, or 44.7% from the fourth quarter of 2013, reflecting increases in the Kate Spade North America and Kate Spade International segments, partially offset by a decrease in net sales in the Adelington Design Group segment.

Gross profit as a percentage of net sales decreased to 57.8% in the fourth quarter of 2014, including an $8 million inventory write down resulting from discontinuing Kate Spade Saturday as a standalone business and the change in the Jack Spade business model, compared to 61.6% in the comparable 2013 period.  Excluding these charges, gross margin as a percentage of sales was 59.7% in the fourth quarter of 2014.  The majority of this decrease compared to the fourth quarter of 2013 was due to a shift in our channel mix in North America related to accelerating some key outlet store openings as we capitalized on the one-time opportunity presented by the Juicy Couture real estate portfolio and foreign currency exchange pressure on our Japanese business.

Selling, general & administrative expenses increased $45 million, or 33.0%, to $182 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 compared to the fourth quarter of 2013.

Interest expense, net decreased to $2 million in the fourth quarter of 2014, compared to $11 million in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Debt increased to $411 million compared to $394 million in the fourth quarter 2013. We ended the fourth quarter of 2014 with $184 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared to $130 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2013, resulting in net debt of $227 million and $264 million, respectively.

Performance Highlights

Total Kate Spade comparable direct-to-consumer net sales, including eCommerce, increased by 28% in the fourth quarter of 2014; excluding eCommerce net sales, comparable direct-to-consumer net sales increased by 21%. Sales per square foot for comparable stores for the latest twelve months were $1,513.

Net sales and Segment Adjusted EBITDA for our reportable segments are provided below:

Kate Spade North America

Net sales for Kate Spade North America were $327 million, a 50.5% increase compared to 2013, driven primarily by kate spade new york.

Store counts and key operating metrics are as follows:

-- We ended the quarter with 108 specialty retail stores and 58 outlet stores, reflecting the net addition over the last 12 months of 20 specialty retail stores and 16 outlet stores;  and
-- Average retail square footage in the fourth quarter of 2014 was approximately 362 thousand square feet, a 39.9% increase compared to 2013.

The store counts at the end of the quarter included 15 specialty and 1 outlet for Kate Spade Saturday and Jack Spade with average retail square footage in the fourth quarter of 23 thousand square feet.

Kate Spade North America Segment Adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter of 2014 was $73 million (22.5% of net sales), compared to Segment Adjusted EBITDA of $50 million (22.9% of net sales) in the fourth quarter of 2013. Comparable Adjusted EBITDA was $52 million (23.7% of net sales) in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Kate Spade International

Net sales for Kate Spade International were $60 million, a 56.0% increase compared to 2013, primarily driven by our operations in Japan and Southeast Asia.

Store counts and key operating metrics are as follows:

-- We ended the quarter with 42 specialty retail stores, 15 outlet stores and 54 concessions, reflecting the net addition over the last 12 months of 6 specialty retail stores, 5 outlet stores and 9 concessions and the acquisition of 6 specialty retail stores, 1 outlet store and 2 concessions; and
-- Average retail square footage in the fourth quarter of 2014 was approximately 104 thousand square feet, a 38.8% increase compared to 2013.

The store counts at the end of the quarter included 16 specialty, 5 concessions and 2 outlets for Kate Spade Saturday, Jack Spade and our businesses in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan with average retail square footage in the fourth quarter of 24 thousand square feet.

Kate Spade International Segment Adjusted EBITDA was $1 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 and flat in the fourth quarter of 2013 (1.2% and (0.5)% of net sales, respectively). Comparable Adjusted EBITDA was flat ((0.1)% of net sales) in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Adelington Design Group

Net sales for the Adelington Design Group segment were $12 million, a 40.5% decrease compared to 2013, reflecting:
--  A $6 million decrease related to the Lizwear brand; and
--  A $2 million decrease related to the Monet brand.

Adelington Design Group Segment Adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter was $3 million (26.1% of net sales), compared to Segment Adjusted EBITDA of $5 million (23.6% of net sales) in the fourth quarter of 2013. Comparable Adjusted EBITDA was $5 million (24.1% of net sales) in the fourth quarter of 2013.

2015 GUIDANCE

Kate Spade & Company's 2015 guidance reflects the impact of various factors including: (1) building quality of sale with a continued pull back in planned promotions across channels (including a reduction in the benefit from flash sales) and increased investment in marketing to support those efforts (2) the conversion of its businesses in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan to a joint venture (3) the benefit of the 53^rd week in 2014 and (4) the estimated impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates on its business in Japan.  In addition, the 2015 guidance does not include any results from operations for Kate Spade Saturday or the Jack Spade brick and mortar locations; however, the Company's 2014 results include these items.  The Company is providing 2015 guidance as follows:

_______________
* Adjusted results are from continuing operations and exclude streamlining initiatives, brand-exiting activities and acquisition costs, non-cash impairment charges, losses on asset disposals, non-cash share-based compensation expense and foreign currency transaction adjustments, net.  The 2015 Adjusted EBITDA estimate does not include a $26 million contract termination fee, which is part of the aggregate $36 million payment expected to be made to E-Land to acquire its interest in Kate Spade China Co. Ltd. and terminate related contracts.

About Kate Spade & Company

Kate Spade & Company (NYSE: KATE) designs and markets accessories and apparel principally under two global, multichannel lifestyle brands: kate spade new york and Jack Spade.  With collections spanning demographics, genders and geographies, the brands are intended to accent customers' interesting lives and inspire adventure at each turn. The Company also owns the Adelington Design Group, a private brand jewelry design and development group that markets brands through department stores and serves jcpenney via exclusive supplier agreements for the Liz Claiborne and Monet jewelry lines. The Company also has a license for the Liz Claiborne New York brand, available at QVC, and Lizwear, which is distributed through the club store channel.  Visit www.katespadeandcompany.com for more information. 

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements contained in, or incorporated by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K, future filings by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), our press releases, and oral statements made by, or with the approval of, our authorized personnel, that relate to our future performance or future events are forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are indicated by words or phrases such as "intend," "anticipate," "plan," "estimate," "target," "aim," "forecast," "project," "expect," "believe," "we are optimistic that we can," "current visibility indicates that we forecast," "contemplation" or "currently envisions" and similar phrases.

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these expectations may not prove to be correct or we may not achieve the financial results, savings or other benefits anticipated in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are necessarily estimates reflecting the best judgment of our senior management and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, some of which may be beyond our control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation our ability to successfully implement our long-term strategic plans; general economic conditions in the United States, Asia, Europe and other parts of the world; our exposure to currency fluctuations; levels of consumer confidence, consumer spending and purchases of discretionary items, including fashion apparel and related products, such as ours; changes in the cost of raw materials, occupancy, labor, advertising and transportation which could impact prices of our products; our ability to expand into markets outside of the US, including our ability to promote brand awareness in our international markets, find suitable partners in certain of those markets and hire and retain key employees for those markets; our ability to maintain targeted profit margins and levels of promotional activity; our ability to anticipate and respond to constantly changing consumer demands and tastes and fashion trends, across multiple brands, product lines, shopping channels and geographies; the impact of the highly competitive nature of the markets within which we operate, both within the US and abroad; issues related to our current level of debt, including an inability to pursue certain business strategies because of the restrictive covenants in the agreements governing our debt and our potential inability to obtain the capital resources needed to operate and grow our business; restrictions in the credit and capital markets, which would impair our ability to access additional sources of liquidity, if needed; our ability to expand our retail footprint with profitable store locations; our ability to implement operational improvements and realize economies of scale in finished product and raw material costs in connection with growth in our business; our ability to expand into new product categories; our ability to successfully implement our marketing initiatives; our ability to complete the wind-down of our KATE SPADE SATURDAY business and JACK SPADE retail store operations in a satisfactory manner and to manage the associated costs, including the impact on our relationships with our employees, vendors, distributors and landlords and unanticipated expenses and charges that may occur, such as litigation risk, including litigation regarding employment and workers' compensation. risks associated with the various businesses we have disposed, including collection of the full amount of principal and interest due and owing pursuant to a three year note issued by Lucky Brand Dungarees, LLC, an affiliate of Leonard Green & Partners, L.P., to us as partial consideration for the purchase of the Lucky Brand business and compliance with our transition service requirements; our dependence on a limited number of large US department store customers, and the risk of consolidations, restructurings, bankruptcies and other ownership changes in the retail industry and financial difficulties at our larger department store customers; whether we will be successful operating the KATE SPADE businesses in Japan and the risks associated with such operations; risks associated with decreased diversification of our business as a result of the reduction of our brand portfolio to the KATE SPADE and Adelington Design Group businesses; risks associated with material disruptions in our information technology systems, both owned and licensed, and with our third party eCommerce platforms and operations; risks associated with data security, including privacy breaches; risks associated with credit card fraud and identity theft; our ability to attract and retain talented, highly qualified executives, and maintain satisfactory relationships with our employees; our ability to adequately establish, defend and protect our trademarks and other proprietary rights; risks associated with the dependence of our Adelington Design Group business on third party arrangements and partners; our reliance on independent foreign manufacturers, including the risk of their failure to comply with safety standards or our policies regarding labor practices; risks associated with our buying/sourcing agreement with Li & Fung Limited, which results in a single third party foreign buying/sourcing agent for a significant portion of our products; risks associated with our arrangement to operate our leased Ohio distribution facility with a third party operations and labor management company that provides distribution operations services, including risks related to increased operating expenses, systems capabilities and operating under a third party arrangement; risks associated with severe weather, natural disasters, public health crises, war, terrorism or other catastrophic events; a variety of legal, regulatory, political, labor and economic risks, including risks related to the importation and exportation of product, tariffs and other trade barriers; our ability to adapt to and compete effectively in the current quota environment in which general quota has expired on apparel products, but political activity seeking to re-impose quota has been initiated or threatened; risks associated with third party service providers, both domestic and overseas, including service providers in the area of eCommerce; limitations on our ability to utilize all or a portion of our US deferred tax assets if we experience an "ownership change"; and the outcome of current and future litigation and other proceedings in which we are involved. The list of factors above is illustrative, but by no means exhaustive. All forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning the matters addressed in this press release and attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are qualified by these cautionary statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations only and are not guarantees of future performance, and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described in this press release, and in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 3, 2015, to be filed with the SEC, including in the sections entitled "Item 1A-Risk Factors" and "Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements." We may change our intentions, beliefs or expectations at any time and without notice, based upon any change in our assumptions or otherwise. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, estimated or projected. In addition, some factors are beyond our control. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

SOURCE Kate Spade & Company

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