Ollie's Bargain Q4 Profit Tops View, But Revenues Miss

(RTTNews) - Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. (OLLI) Tuesday reported a fourth-quarter profit that trumped analysts estimates, but revenues fell short of expectations.

Fourth-quarter profit decreased 28.8% to $49.9 million or $0.76 per share from $70.1 million or $1.07 per share last year.

Profit for the quarter were impacted by a prior year income tax benefit as a result of federal tax law changes.

Adjusted earnings for the quarter increased to $0.71 per share from $0.51 per share last year.

Sales for the quarter grew 10.4% to $393.9 million from $356.7 million last year. Excluding the impact of the 53rd week, net sales increased 15.8%.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimate earnings of $0.69 per share on revenues of $396.97 million.

Comparable store sales increased 5.4% on top of a 4.4% increase in the prior year. The company opened six stores during the quarter, ending the year with a total of 303 stores in 23 states, an increase in store count of 13.1% year over year.

CEI Mark Butler said, "We delivered yet another fantastic quarter and we are proud of our record top- and bottom-line results for the fourth quarter and the year. Strong sales growth, increased gross margin and tight expense controls helped drive a 42% increase in adjusted net income in the quarter. This was our 19th consecutive quarter of positive comparable store sales, fueled by an outstanding performance in our toy category."

Looking forward to the full year 2019, the company expects adjusted earnings of $2.10 to $2.15 per share and sales of $1.436 billion to $1.449 billion. Analysts currently estimate earnings of $2.14 per share and revenues of $1.44 billion.