Destination Maternity net sales down 8.7% in Q1 FY2019

The comparable sales for Q1 of fiscal 2019 decreased 7.2 per cent from Q1 of fiscal 2018, said a press release by Destiny Maternity. Gross margin rate for the first quarter of fiscal 2019 was 54.8 per cent, an increase of 110 basis points from the comparable gross margin in the first quarter of fiscal 2018.

“We had a challenging start to the year with comparable store sales down 7.2 per cent in the first quarter,” said Dave Helkey, chief financial officer of Destination Maternity. “We were successful in mitigating a significant portion of the impact on the bottom line with a 110 basis point improvement in margins and a 6.5 per cent reduction in SG&A expenses, but know there is more work to be done.

As we look ahead, we are committed to strengthening the underlying fundamentals of the business and driving long term, profitable growth. Due to the recently announced leadership transition, the board of directors is conducting a comprehensive review of the company’s strategic initiatives to ensure that the company is pursuing an aggressive strategy that will drive real and sizeable change in the business.”

For FY2019, the company now expects annual adjusted EBITDA guidance to be in the $13 million to $17 million range. (PC)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India