While sales were up for Pier 1 Imports Inc.’s third quarter, the company’s net income was down, the Fort Worth retailer reported Dec. 18. For the third quarter ended Nov. 29, the company reported net income of $17.9 million, or 20 cents per share, compared to last year’s third quarter net income of $26.8 million, or 26 cents per share. Total sales for the third quarter were $484.5 million, a 4.1 percent increase versus $465.5 million in the year-earlier quarter. Gross profit for the third quarter of fiscal 2015 was $204.9 million compared to $202.2 million for the same period last year. As a percentage of sales, gross profit was 42.3%, compared to 43.4% in the third quarter of fiscal 2014. The decline of 110 basis points was in line with management’s expectations and principally reflects a higher mix of e-Commerce sales, including fulfillment costs, partially offset by leverage of store occupancy costs.
Pier 1 President and CEO Alex W. Smith said the company’s e-commerce sales have grown three-fold over the last year, hitting 12 percent of total sales in the third quarter. “Our ambitious omni-channel transformation continues to progress well,” he said. The results met Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was also for earnings of 20 cents per share. The home decor company posted revenue of $484.5 million in the period, which missed Street forecasts. Analysts expected $488.5 million, according to Zacks. Pier 1 expects full-year earnings in the range of 95 cents to $1.05 per share.