Pier 1 Imports Inc. (PIR) on Wednesday reported a loss of $81.7 million in its fiscal first quarter.
Pier 1 Imports Inc. was down 85 cents to $7.93 on Thursday.
The Fort Worth-based company said it had a loss of $19.97 per share.
The home decor company posted revenue of $314.3 million in the period.
“We have chosen to prioritize our comp sales recovery with the implementation of new merchandising and marketing initiatives supported by substantive cost cutting actions,” said Cheryl Bachelder, interim CEO. “Importantly, we remain on track to achieve the previously outlined benefits of $100-$110 million this year and now expect the substantial majority of those benefits to be realized through cost reductions. The expense savings we plan to realize in the second half of fiscal 2020 are expected to be absorbed by reduced gross margins rather than driving the full year net income and EBITDA recapture we previously outlined.”
In a conference call with analysts, Bachelder said the company will close about 57 stores in 2020, but could close up to 15% of its portfolio if they don’t meet their performance goals, sales targets and other costs.
“We’re continuing to work with A&G Realty to address rent expense and determine the ideal footprint going forward,” she said in the conference call, according to a transcript from Thompson Reuters.
In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $8.80, a drop of 85% in the last 12 months.
In the conference call, Bachelder said the retailer’s financial results are expected to be weak in the first half of the year as it clears out off brand goods.
“In the second half, we believe our assortment and marketing reset will lead to improvement in comp sales and our cost-cutting efforts will help us deliver improvement in EBITDA versus a year ago,” she said. .
The company’s fiscal 2020 action plan is focused on 5 areas: revenue and margin, marketing and promotional effectiveness, sourcing and supply chain, cost cutting and store optimization, Bachelder said.
“In the first quarter, our team has been laser-focused on the implementation of these initiatives aimed at getting Pier 1 back on track. We’ve made progress in many areas and as with any turnaround, we’re learning, addressing trends in our business and adjusting our plans in realtime,” she said.
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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on PIR at https://www.zacks.com/ap/PIR