Caleres Inc (NYSE: CAL) rose after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.
The St. Louis-based company on Tuesday declared consolidated sales of $702.5 million, up 9.8% from the year before. Gross profit was $293.4 million, while gross margin of 41.8% was up 97 basis points.
Operating earnings were $30.3 million during Q4 and operating margin was 4.3%, while adjusted operating earnings were $31.3 million – up more than 50% – and adjusted operating margin of 4.5% was up 122 basis points.
Net earnings were $20.3 million, while diluted earnings per share were $0.47 and included a $0.02 charge for operations restructuring and a $0.01 benefit related to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
CEO Diane Sullivan said "We capped off an outstanding year by delivering a consolidated fourth quarter sales increase of nearly 10% and earnings improvement on both a reported and adjusted basis. Famous Footwear and Brand Portfolio both contributed to this growth and delivered fourth quarter sales increases of 7.0% and 13.8%, respectively,
"Our success in 2017 is reflective of the foundational strength of our diversified portfolio of brands and is directly attributable to our ability to move to where the consumer is going. We expect to leverage our success in both of these areas in 2018 and to deliver adjusted earnings per share of between $2.40 and $2.50."
CAL shares leaped $2.99, or 10.3%, during Wednesday’s last hour of trade to $32.08, within a 52-week trading range of $22.39 to $34.34.
