Source: Company reports

Steve Madden reported solid 4Q15 results despite the unfavorable weather and heavily promotional retail environment: sales totaled $344.3, up 0.5% from the year-ago quarter. The company reported strong, 6.1% comp sales for the overall business. Seasonal products like boots and cold weather accessories were the most affected. The retail segment experienced net sales of $79.3 million, up 8.9% from the fourth quarter of the prior year. The increase reflects a 6.1% increase in comparable store sales, which was driven by better fashion footwear trends, stronger product assortment and improvement in conversion rate. The wholesale business net sales were $265.0 million, down 1.8% year over year and partially offsetting gains due to a heavily promotional retail environment. Gross margin in the wholesale business by 130 basis points, reflecting the improvement in both the wholesale footwear and accessories segment.

FY15 RESULTS

For FY15, Steve Madden’s total sales increased 5.3% to $1.4 billion from the prior year. Wholesale net sales grew by 3.3%, to $1.2 billion; retail net sales increased 15.9%, to $240.3 million; and retail comps rose 11.2%. Diluted earnings per share were $1.85, compared to $ in 2014. The figure was at the low end than the guidance of $1.85–$1.95 range.  .

Guidance

For FY16, Steve Madden expects diluted EPS in the range of $1.93–$2.03, short of the consensus estimate of $2.10. The company expects total sales to increase by approximately 2–4% over net sales in 2015.