Ross Stores Posts Q1 Loss, Suspends Quarterly Dividend

(RTTNews) - Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) Thursday reported first-quarter net loss of $305.84 million or $0.87 per share, compared to net income of $421.14 million or $1.15 per share last year.

On average, 23 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.06 per share for the quarter.

Revenues for the quarter dropped to $1.84 billion from $3.80 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $2.12 billion.

The company said it had closed all Ross Dress for Less and dd's Discounts locations starting on March 20th through the quarter end due to the ongoing spread of COVID-19 throughout the United States.

On May 14th, the company began a phased process of reopening stores on a market by market basis. Around 700 stores have reopened since, with the remaining stores expected to be reopened over the coming weeks.

Moving ahead, CEO Barbara Rentler announced several additional actions, which include the suspension of quarterly dividend program and reduced new store openings for the year.

"Given the lack of visibility created by COVID-19 and the unknown extent of the impact the virus will have on consumer demand and store productivity, we are not providing second quarter and 2020 full year sales and earnings guidance," Rentler added.