Ascena Retail Group, Inc. Reports Unaudited Consolidated Earnings Results for the Second Quarter and Six Months Ended January 27, 2018; Provides Earnings Guidance for Third Quarter of Fiscal 2018; Provides Capital Expenditures Guidance for the Full Year Fiscal 2018; Reports Impairment of Assets for the Second Quarter Ended January 27, 2018
For six months, net sales were $3,308.7 million against $3,426.6 million a year ago. Operating income was $4.3 million against $6.5 million a year ago. Loss before benefit for income taxes was $47.7 million against $43.5 million a year ago. Net loss was $32.7 million against $20.8 million a year ago. Net loss per basic and diluted common share was $0.17 against $0.11 a year ago. Non-GAAP adjusted operating income was $57.4 million against $88.9 million a year ago. Non-GAAP net loss was $3.3 million against income of $22.3 million a year ago. Non-GAAP diluted net loss per share was $0.02 against earnings of $0.11 a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA was $231.2 million against $262.5 million a year ago.
For the quarter, the company reported impairment of assets of $3.2 million.
Fiscal year 2018 third quarter non-GAAP loss per share is estimated in the range of $0.12 to $0.07, supported by the following assumptions: net sales in the range of $1.48 billion to $1.52 billion; Comparable sales in the range of down 3% to down 5%; Gross margin rate in the range of 59.7% to 60.2%; Depreciation and amortization expense of approximately $86 million; Operating income in the range of $5 million to $20 million; Interest expense of approximately $28 million; and minimum taxes of approximately $2.5 million.
The company continues to expect full year capital expenditures in the range of $190 million to $220 million.