Sluggish holiday sales pull Build-A-Bear Workshop’s performance down for fourth quarter and curb revenues for fiscal year but share price rises
Share price in Build-A-Bear Workshop rose despite the company announcing a fall in sales throughout the holiday season in its most recent results today.
The retailer reported adjusted net income of $19.6m (£13.7m) for its fiscal year 2015, up from $17.4m for its fiscal year 2014, although total revenue dropped to $377.7m, compared to $392.4m the year before.
The company's results for its fourth quarter were not as great, with adjusted net income falling to $10.3m, compared to $13.1m the year before, while total revenue dropped to $117.7m, compared to $131.5m.
Share price in the company rose after the results were announced, trading up 10.5 per cent at $13.40 shortly after the New York market opened.
"In 2015, we delivered our third consecutive year of improved profitability and increased consolidated comparable sales," said Sharon Price John, Build-A-Bear Workshop’s chief executive.
The retailer, which now owns over 320 stores worldwide with more set up under a franchising arrangement, has recently been focusing on revamping its store layout, and has noticed that those stores it has updated have already started to pull in more sales.
"We remain committed to the ongoing disciplined execution of our strategy while we continue to leverage our powerful brand in order to deliver both sales and profit improvement," remarked Price John.
For its fiscal year 2016, the company is foreseeing a modest growth in revenue with new stores openings and existing store upgrades in various countries, including the US, Denmark and China.