Chico's FAS, Inc. Reports Second Quarter Results

FORT MYERS, Fla., Aug. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

• Reported second quarter diluted EPS of $0.49; adjusted diluted EPS of $0.28
• Delivered total Company net sales of $545 million, in line with outlook
• Generated 8.5% operating margin with solid gross margin and disciplined expense management
• Strengthened balance sheet, ending quarter with $151 million in cash and marketable securities, and year-over-year debt reduction of $75 million

Chico's FAS, Inc. (NYSE: CHS) ("Company" or "Chico's FAS") today announced its financial results for the thirteen weeks ended July 29, 2023 ("second quarter"). The Company also provided its fiscal 2023 third quarter outlook and updated its full-year outlook.

Molly Langenstein, Chico's FAS Chief Executive Officer and President, commented, "We delivered another quarter of strong operating income and earnings performance, which was consistent with our outlook.

"For all three brands, full-priced sales remained healthy, we attracted new customers, and we gained market share. Total Company average dollar spend and units per transaction increased, and we increased average unit retail at Chico's and Soma. Our apparel customers continued to buy head-to-toe dressing, and responded to new proportions in sportswear, and our intimates customers responded to new strapless and unlined bra launches."

Langenstein concluded, "We continue to deliver strong results and generate meaningful cash flow. Our unrelenting focus on our brand strategy and four strategic pillars of customer led, product obsessed, digital first, and operationally excellent gives us confidence in achieving our long-term financial targets and further enhancing our operating performance, strengthening our balance sheet, and increasing shareholder value."

Business Highlights

The Company's second quarter highlights include:

• Consistent profitability: For the second quarter, the Company reported net income per diluted share of $0.49 and adjusted net income per diluted share of $0.28, excluding a non-cash tax benefit.
• Compelling two-year stacked comparable sales: For the second quarter, total Chico's FAS comparable sales decreased 3.0% versus last year's second quarter and increased 16.5% on a two-year stacked basis. Chico's^® comparable sales decreased 2.5% versus the second quarter last year. White House Black Market^® ("WHBM") comparable sales decreased 5.7% versus last year's second quarter, marking a sequential improvement from the first quarter. Soma^® comparable sales were down 0.5% versus last year's second quarter, marking a sequential comparable sales improvement over the last four consecutive quarters. For all three brands, full-priced sales remained healthy, and year-over-year total Company average dollar spend and units per transaction increased.
• Continued market share gains: Our brands continued to take market share. According to market research firm Circana, for the second quarter year over year, Chico's and WHBM gained share with customers over 45 with household incomes over $100,000. During the same period, Soma outpaced the market and gained share with customers over 35 with household incomes over $100,000.
• Strong operating income: Second quarter income from operations was $46.5 million, or 8.5% of net sales, reflecting solid gross margin performance combined with continued, disciplined expense management and investment in the Company's growth strategies.
• Solid balance sheet: The Company ended the second quarter with $150.7 million in cash and marketable securities and total liquidity of $385.8 million, with $24.0 million in long-term debt.

Overview of Financial Results

For the second quarter, the Company reported net income of $59.3 million, or $0.49 per diluted share, compared to net income of $42.0 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, for last year's second quarter. The Company reported second quarter adjusted net income of $33.7 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, excluding the reversal of a $25.6 million non-cash tax valuation allowance, as presented in the accompanying GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation.

Sales

The Company reported second quarter net sales of $545.1 million compared to $558.7 million in last year's second quarter. This decrease of 2.4% primarily reflects a comparable sales decrease of 3.0% since last year's second quarter. The 3.0% comparable sales decline was driven by a decrease in transaction count, partially offset by an increase in average dollar sale.

The following table depicts comparable sales percentages for Chico's FAS, Chico's, WHBM, and Soma:

Gross Margin

For the second quarter, gross profit was $216.9 million, or 39.8% of net sales, compared to $231.5 million, or 41.4% of net sales, in last year's second quarter. The 160-basis-point decrease in gross margin primarily reflects higher occupancy costs; lower average unit retail; increased raw material costs partially offset by lower inbound freight; and the benefit of disciplined expense management.

Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses

For the second quarter, selling, general, and administrative expenses ("SG&A") were $170.4 million, or 31.3% of net sales, compared to $173.3 million, or 31.0% of net sales, for last year's second quarter. The 30 basis points of deleverage primarily reflects increased store operating expenses and deleverage on lower net sales, partially offset by disciplined expense management.

Income Taxes

The Company's second quarter effective tax rate was a 28.6% benefit compared to a 26.6% expense for last year's second quarter. This year's effective tax rate primarily reflects a $25.6 million non-cash discrete benefit due to a reversal of the majority of the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets. The Company's second quarter effective tax rate, excluding the reversal of the valuation allowance, was 26.9%. Last year's second quarter effective tax rate primarily reflected the impact of losses in foreign jurisdictions on which a full valuation allowance was recorded.

Cash, Marketable Securities, and Capital Allocation

At the end of the second quarter, cash and marketable securities totaled $150.7 million compared to $172.5 million at the end of last year's second quarter.

Long-term debt at the end of the second quarter totaled $24.0 million compared to $99.0 million at the end of last year's second quarter, reflecting a principal payment of $25.0 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2023, in addition to the $50.0 million repaid in fiscal year 2022.

During the second quarter of fiscal 2023, the Company announced that its Board authorized a new share repurchase program of up to $100 million of the Company's common stock and canceled the remainder of its $300 million share repurchase program.

Inventories

At the end of the second quarter, inventories totaled $300.2 million compared to $338.8 million at the end of last year's second quarter. The decrease of $38.6 million, or 11.4%, was primarily due to normalized supply chain conditions that resulted in significantly lower in-transit inventories.

Fiscal 2023 Third Quarter and Full-Year Outlook

For fiscal 2023 third quarter, the Company currently expects:

• Consolidated net sales of $505 million to $525 million;
• Gross margin rate as a percent of net sales of 38.5% to 39.0%;
• SG&A as a percent of net sales of 35.1% to 35.6%;
• Effective income tax rate of 29.0%; and
• Earnings per diluted share of $0.08 to $0.12.

For fiscal 2023, a 53-week year, the Company currently expects:

• Consolidated net sales of $2,145 million to $2,175 million;
• Gross margin rate as a percent of net sales of 38.5% to 38.8%;
• SG&A as a percent of net sales of 33.0% to 33.3%;
• Effective income tax rate of 26.0%;
• Earnings per diluted share of $0.87 to $0.95⁽¹⁾; and
• Capital and cloud-based expenditures of $75 million to $85 million.

Conference Call Information

The Company is hosting a live conference call on Tuesday, August 29, 2023, beginning at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time to review the operating results for the second quarter. The conference call is being webcast live over the Internet, which you may access in the Investors section of the Company's corporate website, www.chicosfas.com. A replay of the webcast will remain available online for one year at http://chicosfas.com/investors/events-and-presentations.

The phone number for the call is 1-877-883-0383. International callers should use 1-412-902-6506. The Elite Entry number, 4272299, is required to join the conference call. Interested participants should call 10-15 minutes prior to the 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time start to be placed in queue.

ABOUT CHICO'S FAS, INC.

Chico's FAS is a Florida-based fashion company founded in 1983 on Sanibel Island, FL. The Company reinvented the fashion retail experience by creating fashion communities anchored by service, which put the customer at the center of everything we do. As one of the leading fashion retailers in North America, Chico's FAS is a company of three unique brands – Chico's^®, White House Black Market^®, and Soma^® – each operating in their own white space, founded by women, led by women, providing solutions that millions of women say give them confidence and joy.

Our Company has a passion for fashion, and each day we provide clothing, shoes and accessories, intimate apparel, and expert styling in our brick-and-mortar boutiques, digital online boutiques, and through StyleConnect^®, the Company's customized, branded, digital styling tool that enables customers to conveniently shop wherever, whenever, and however they prefer.

As of July 29, 2023, the Company operated 1,258 stores in the U.S. and sold merchandise through 58 international franchise locations in Mexico and through two domestic franchise locations in airports. The Company's merchandise is also available at www.chicos.com, www.chicosofftherack.com, www.whbm.com, and www.soma.com.

To learn more about Chico's FAS, please visit our corporate website at www.chicosfas.com. The information on our corporate website is not, and shall not be deemed to be, a part of this press release or incorporated into our federal securities law filings.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995

This press release contains statements concerning our current expectations, assumptions, plans, estimates, judgments, and projections about our business and our industry, and other statements that are not historical facts. These statements, including, without limitation, the quote from Ms. Langenstein and the sections captioned "Business Highlights" and "Fiscal 2023 Third Quarter and Full-Year Outlook," are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In most cases, words or phrases such as "aim," "anticipates," "believes," "could," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "target," "may," "will," "plans," "path," "outlook," "project," "should," "strategy," "potential," "confident," "assumptions," and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based largely on information currently available to our management and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although we believe our expectations are based on reasonable estimates and assumptions, our expectations are not guarantees of performance. There is no assurance that our expectations will occur or that our estimates or assumptions will be correct, and we caution investors and all others not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, those factors described in Item 1A, "Risk Factors" in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and, from time to time, in Item 1A, "Risk Factors" in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and the following: the ability of our suppliers, logistics providers, vendors, and landlords to meet their obligations to us in light of financial stress, labor shortages, liquidity challenges, bankruptcy filings by other industry participants, and supply chain and other disruptions; our ability to sufficiently staff our retail stores; changes in general economic conditions, including, but not limited to, consumer confidence and spending patterns; the impacts of rising inflation, gasoline prices, and interest rates on consumer spending; the availability of, and interest rates on, consumer credit; the impact of consumer debt levels and consumers' ability to meet credit obligations; market disruptions, including pandemics or significant health hazards, severe weather conditions, natural disasters, terrorist activities, financial crises, adverse developments affecting the financial services industry, political and social crises, war and other military conflicts (such as the war in Ukraine) or other major events, or the prospect of these events (including their impact on consumer spending, inflation, and the global supply chain); shifts in consumer behavior, and our ability to adapt, identify, and respond to new and changing fashion trends and customer preferences, and to coordinate product development with buying and planning; changes in the general or specialty retail or apparel industries, including significant decreases in market demand and the overall level of spending for women's private-branded clothing and related accessories; our ability to secure and maintain customer acceptance of in-store and online concepts and styles; our ability to maintain strong relationships with our vendors, manufacturers, licensors, and retail customers; increased competition in the markets in which we operate, including for, among other things, premium mall space; our ability to remain competitive with customer shipping terms and costs; decreases in customer traffic at malls, shopping centers, and our stores; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and commodity prices; significant increases in the costs of manufacturing, raw materials, transportation, importing, distribution, labor, and advertising; decreases in the quality of merchandise received from suppliers and increases in delivery times for receiving such merchandise; our ability to appropriately manage our store fleet; our ability to achieve the expected results of any store openings or store closings; our ability to appropriately manage inventory and allocation processes and leverage targeted promotions; our ability to maintain cost-saving discipline; our ability to generate sufficient cash flow; our ability to operate our retail websites in a profitable manner; our ability to successfully identify and implement additional sales and distribution channels; changes in the timing of holidays or in the onset of seasonal weather affecting period-to-period sales comparisons; our ability to successfully execute and achieve the expected results of our business, brand strategies, brand awareness programs, and merchandising and marketing programs, including, but not limited to, the Company's rewards programs and its three-year strategic growth plan, sales initiatives, multi-channel strategies, and four strategic pillars, which are (1) customer led, (2) product obsessed, (3) digital first, and (4) operationally excellent; our ability to utilize our Fort Myers campus, our distribution center, and our other support facilities in an efficient and effective manner; our reliance on sourcing from foreign suppliers; significant adverse economic, labor, political, or other shifts (including adverse changes in tariffs, taxes, or other import regulations, particularly with respect to China or Vietnam, or legislation prohibiting certain imports from China or Vietnam); U.S. and foreign governmental actions and policies, and changes thereto; the continuing performance, implementation, and integration of our management information systems; our ability to successfully update and maintain our information systems; the impact of any system failure, cybersecurity, or other data security breaches, including any security breaches resulting in the theft, transfer, or unauthorized disclosure of customer, employee, or company information that we or our third-party vendors may experience; the risks that our share repurchase program may not successfully enhance shareholder value, or that share repurchases could be negatively perceived by investors; our ability to comply with applicable domestic and foreign information security and privacy laws, regulations, and technology platform rules or other obligations related to data privacy and security; our ability to attract, hire, train, motivate, and retain qualified employees in an inclusive environment; our ability to successfully recruit leadership or transition members of our senior management team; increased public focus and opinion on environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") initiatives and our ability to meet any announced ESG goals and initiatives; future unsolicited offers to buy the Company and actions of activist shareholders and others, and our ability to respond effectively; our ability to secure and protect our trademark and other intellectual property rights; our ability to protect our reputation and our brand images; unanticipated obligations or changes in estimates arising from new or existing litigation, income taxes, and other regulatory proceedings; unanticipated adverse changes in legal, regulatory, or tax laws; and our ability to comply with the terms of our credit agreement, including the restrictive provisions limiting our flexibility in operating our business and in obtaining additional credit on commercially reasonable terms.

These factors should be considered in evaluating forward-looking statements contained herein. All forward-looking statements that are made, or are attributable to us, are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice. The forward-looking statements included herein are only made as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Investor Relations Contact:
Julie MacMedan
Chico's FAS, Inc.
(239) 346-4384
[email protected]

Chico's FAS, Inc. • 11215 Metro Parkway • Fort Myers, Florida 33966 • (239) 277-6200