Dallas, Texas 09/03/2013 (Financialstrend) – J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) declared financial outcomes for its fiscal second quarterly period, which ended on August 3, 2013. The firm also reported on its plans to fix and brace the biz and return to lucrative growth. Financial outcomes for the quarterly period are as follows –
– The company registered net sales of $2.66 billion as against $3.02 billion registered during the same period of last year (2012). Comparable store sale facts dropped 11.9% during the 2nd quarter, and were pessimistically impacted by the firm’s failed prior merchandising and promotional policies that led to strangely high markdowns and authorization levels in the period under review.
– Besides, the long-lasting overhaul and unsatisfactory re-merchandising of its Home sections unfavorably impacted the firm’s comparable store sale figures during the period under review. In general, the recital of the firm’s Home section had a 240 basis point impact on its comparable store sale figures for the quarterly period.
– In spite of these challenges, comparable store sale figures for the quarterly period augmented in a consecutive manner by 470 basis points as against the first quarter of financial 2013. Besides, sales outcomes enhanced sequentially every month within the second quarterly period, a tendency the firm expects to carry on via the back half of 2013.
– Gross margin remained at 29.6% of sales as against 33.2% during the same period of 2012. Gross margin was pessimistically impacted by lower than anticipated sale figures, and a higher level of authorization merchandise sales in the period comprising merchandise carried over from the initial part of 2013.
– During the quarterly period, the Company increased its liquidity by making foray into a $2.25 billion senior secured term loan facility.
– Second quarter outcomes reflect an effective tax rate of 3.0 per cent as against 36.4% during the last quarterly period.
J.C. Penney Company, Inc. loses one of its biggest backers
2 weeks after leaving the board, Ackman has decided to unload his equity holding stake in Penney at $12.90 per scrip.
