Upcoming AWS Coverage on New York & Co. Post-Earnings Results

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / March 24, 2017 / Active Wall St. announces its post-earnings coverage on Genesco Inc. (NYSE: GCO) as the Company reported its financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal 2017 on March 10, 2017. The footwear, hats, clothing, and accessories seller surpassed earnings estimates. Register with us now for your free membership at:

http://www.activewallst.com/register/

One of Genesco's competitors within the Apparel Stores space, New York & Company, Inc. (NYSE: NWY), released its Q4 2016 and FY16 results after the market closed on Thursday, March 16, 2017. AWS will be initiating a research report on New York & Co. in the coming days.

Today, AWS is promoting its earnings coverage on GCO; touching on NWY. Get our free coverage by signing up to:

http://www.activewallst.com/register/

Earnings Reviewed

Genesco reported that net sales for the fourth quarter ended January 28, 2017, decreased 5% to $883.17 million from $932.21 million in Q4 FY16, reflecting the sale of the Lids Team Sports business in Q4 FY16 and a decline of 2%in sales from the remaining businesses. The Company's revenue numbers came in below analysts' consensus of 903.2 million.

Genesco's consolidated comparable sales, including same store sales and comparable ecommerce and Catalog sales were flat in the reported quarter, with an 8% increase in the Lids Sports Group, a 6% decrease in the Journeys Group, a 2% increase in the Schuh Group, and a 1% decrease in the Johnston & Murphy Group. Comparable sales for the Company reflected a 2% decrease in same store sales and a 12% increase in ecommerce sales.

For Q4 FY17, Genesco's gross margin improved 190 basis points to 47.3%, led by Lids and Schuh, where better results offset declines in Journeys. Gross margin for Lids improved approximately 700 basis points, partly reflecting the sale of Lids team sports, which was a lower margin business. The Company stated that improvement in the retail business was a very healthy 400 basis points, as Lids anniversaried its inventory rightsizing and a particularly intense level of clearance activity in Q4 FY16. During the reported quarter, Schuh's gross margin improvement of 380 basis points was also significant as Schuh anniversaried very heavy promotional activity that resulted from last year's difficult holiday season. Journey's gross margin decreased 190 basis points.

For Q4 FY17, Genesco's earnings from continuing operations were $46.54 million, or $2.40 per diluted share, compared to earnings from continuing operations of $44.66 million, or $2.07 per diluted share, for Q4 FY16. The reported quarter results reflected a $0.25 per diluted share gain after tax, including a gain on the sale of SureGrip Footwear of $12.3 million and a gain of $0.8 million on other legal matters, which was partially offset by $3.9 million of asset impairment charges, pension settlement expenses, and other items. Adjusted for certain items, earnings from continuing operations were $41.8 million, or $2.15 per diluted share, for Q4 FY17 compared to earnings from continuing operations of $45.8 million, or $2.11 per diluted share, for Q4 FY16. The Company's earnings results smashed past Wall Street's expectation of $1.79 per share.

Fiscal 2017 Results

For the year ended January 28, 2017, Genesco reported sales of $2.9 billion, down 5% compared to net sales of $3.0 billion for the year ended January 30, 2016, reflecting the sale of the Lids Team Sports business and a 1% declined in sales from the remaining businesses.

Genesco's earnings from continuing operations for FY17 were $97.9 million, or $4.85 per diluted share, compared to earnings from continuing operations of $95.4 million, or $4.15 per diluted share, for FY16. On an adjusted basis, the Company reported earnings from continuing operations of $87.2 million, or $4.33 per diluted share, for FY17, compared to earnings from continuing operations of $98.6 million, or $4.29 per diluted share, for the year ago period.

Balance Sheet

In Q4 FY17, Genesco's total inventory was up 6%, or $34 million, on a sales decrease of 2%. This increase at year-end was attributable primarily to Journeys and to Lids. Journeys' inventory was up, as anticipated, 10%, or $23 million, on a sales decrease of 3%. This was due to almost $40 million of new receipts in January. Capital expenditures for Q4 FY17 were $28 million and depreciation and amortization was $19 million.

In FY17, Genesco repurchased a total of 2.2 million shares of common stock for a total cost of $133 million and an average price of $61.81 per share. The Company did not repurchase any shares in Q4 FY17. Through the end of February 2017, the Company had repurchased 138,900 shares at a total cost of $8 million and an average price of $59.49.

Outlook

For FY18, Genesco expects adjusted diluted earnings per share in the range of $4.40 to $4.55.These expectations do not include expected non-cash asset impairments and other charges, estimated in the range of $0.22 to $0.26 per share after tax, for the full fiscal year.

Stock Performance

At the closing bell, on Thursday, March 23, 2017, Genesco's stock rose slightly by 0.90%, ending the trading session at $55.75. A total volume of 275.46 thousand shares were traded at the end of the day, which was higher than the 3-month average volume of 237.19 thousand shares. In previous six months, shares of the Company have advanced 7.42%. Shares of the company have a PE ratio of 11.32. At Thursday's closing price, the stock's net capitalization stands at $1.11 billion.

Active Wall Street:

Active Wall Street (AWS) produces regular sponsored and non-sponsored reports, articles, stock market blogs, and popular investment newsletters covering equities listed on NYSE and NASDAQ and micro-cap stocks. AWS has two distinct and independent departments. One department produces non-sponsored analyst certified content generally in the form of press releases, articles and reports covering equities listed on NYSE and NASDAQ and the other produces sponsored content (in most cases not reviewed by a registered analyst), which typically consists of compensated investment newsletters, articles and reports covering listed stocks and micro-caps. Such sponsored content is outside the scope of procedures detailed below.

AWS has not been compensated; directly or indirectly; for producing or publishing this document.

PRESS RELEASE PROCEDURES:

The non-sponsored content contained herein has been prepared by a writer (the "Author") and is fact checked and reviewed by a third party research service company (the "Reviewer") represented by a credentialed financial analyst, for further information on analyst credentials, please email info@activewallst.com. Rohit Tuli, a CFA® charterholder (the "Sponsor"), provides necessary guidance in preparing the document templates. The Reviewer has reviewed and revised the content, as necessary, based on publicly available information which is believed to be reliable. Content is researched, written and reviewed on a reasonable-effort basis. The Reviewer has not performed any independent investigations or forensic audits to validate the information herein. The Reviewer has only independently reviewed the information provided by the Author according to the procedures outlined by AWS. AWS is not entitled to veto or interfere in the application of such procedures by the third-party research service company to the articles, documents or reports, as the case may be. Unless otherwise noted, any content outside of this document has no association with the Author or the Reviewer in any way.

NO WARRANTY

AWS, the Author, and the Reviewer are not responsible for any error which may be occasioned at the time of printing of this document or any error, mistake or shortcoming. No liability is accepted whatsoever for any direct, indirect or consequential loss arising from the use of this document. AWS, the Author, and the Reviewer expressly disclaim any fiduciary responsibility or liability for any consequences, financial or otherwise arising from any reliance placed on the information in this document. Additionally, AWS, the Author, and the Reviewer do not (1) guarantee the accuracy, timeliness, completeness or correct sequencing of the information, or (2) warrant any results from use of the information. The included information is subject to change without notice.

NOT AN OFFERING

This document is not intended as an offering, recommendation, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell the securities mentioned or discussed, and is to be used for informational purposes only. Please read all associated disclosures and disclaimers in full before investing. Neither AWS nor any party affiliated with us is a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer with any agency or in any jurisdiction whatsoever. To download our report(s), read our disclosures, or for more information, visit http://www.activewallst.com/disclaimer/.

CONTACT

For any questions, inquiries, or comments reach out to us directly. If you're a company we are covering and wish to no longer feature on our coverage list contact us via email and/or phone between 09:30 EDT to 16:00 EDT from Monday to Friday at:

Email: info@activewallst.com

Phone number: 1-858-257-3144

Office Address: 3rd floor, 207 Regent Street, London, W1B 3HH, United Kingdom

CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

SOURCE: Active Wall Street