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Conn’s, Inc. (CONN), a specialty retailer of home appliances,
furniture, mattresses, consumer electronics, computers and lawn and
garden products, today announced its results for the quarter ended April
30, 2012.
Significant items for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 include:
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Diluted earnings per share rose to $0.35 for the three months ended
April 30, 2012, from $0.14 in the previous year;
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Same store sales increased 17.8% over the same period in 2011;
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Total revenues were $200.9 million, a year-over-year increase of $8.9
million, or 4.6%, with reported growth tempered by the closing of 11
stores in fiscal 2012;
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Retail segment gross margin rose 320 basis points to 33.7%;
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Retail segment operating income increased to $10.8 million, compared
to $4.9 million for the same quarter in the prior fiscal year;
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Credit segment operating income increased to $11.1 million, compared
to $9.9 million for the prior-year period; and
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The Company raised earnings guidance for fiscal year 2013 to adjusted
diluted earnings per share of $1.30 to $1.40.
"Our current quarter results demonstrate the value we deliver to our
customers with a broad range of high-quality products and a better
shopping experience," stated Theodore M. Wright, Chairman and CEO. "We
have seen a significant benefit from recently remodeled stores, as sales
growth at those stores outpaced the double digit growth seen overall."
Retail Segment Results
The increase in net sales during the quarter was driven by higher
average selling prices in the major product categories, improved and
expanded product selection in the furniture and mattress category and
retention of a portion of the unit volume from stores closed in the
prior year. The reported increase in sales was partially offset by the
impact of the closure of 11 stores in fiscal 2012.
Retail gross margin increased to 33.7% in the current-year quarter, from
30.5% in the same quarter of the prior year. The increase in the retail
gross margin was driven by a favorable shift in product mix. The
majority of the margin expansion was reported in the furniture and
mattress category, which contributed approximately 30% of our product
gross profit in the first quarter of fiscal 2013.
Credit Segment Results
The credit segment’s results, compared to the same quarter in the prior
year, were impacted by:
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Lower servicing costs and reduced provision for bad debts, with the
continued improvement in overall credit quality of the portfolio;
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Lower borrowing cost, with a reduction in the effective interest rate
on outstanding borrowings and a decline in outstanding debt;
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Reduction in average portfolio balance from the prior-year period; and
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A decline in portfolio interest and fee yield to 18.0%, due to a
higher relative amount of short-term promotional receivables and
increased net charge-off levels.
Additional information on the credit portfolio and its performance may
be found in the table included within this press release and in the
Company’s Form 10-Q to be filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
The Company recorded a pre-tax charge of $0.8 million, or $0.02 per
diluted share, during the prior-year quarter associated with employee
severance costs.
Capital and Liquidity
The Company issued $103.7 million of amortizing, fixed-rate notes on
April 30, 2012. The notes bear interest at 4.0% and were sold at a
discount to deliver a 5.21% yield, before considering transaction costs.
While the final maturity for the notes is in April 2016, the Company
currently expects to repay any outstanding note balance in April 2013.
Net proceeds from the offering were used to repay borrowings under the
Company’s revolving credit facility. As a result, there was $186.8
million outstanding, excluding $4.3 million of letters of credit, under
the asset-based loan facility as of April 30, 2012. Additionally, as of
April 30, 2012, the Company had $145.4 million of immediately available
borrowing capacity, and an additional $113.5 million that could become
available upon increases in eligible inventory and customer receivable
balances under the borrowing base.
Outlook and Guidance
The Company increased earnings guidance for the fiscal year ending
January 31, 2013, to diluted earnings per share of $1.30 to $1.40. The
following expectations were considered in developing the guidance:
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Same stores sales up mid- to high-single digits;
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New store openings between five and seven;
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Retail gross margin between 32.0% and 34.0%;
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An increase in the credit portfolio balance;
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Provision for bad debts between 5.5% and 6.5% of the average portfolio
balance outstanding;
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Selling, general and administrative expense, as a percent of revenues,
between 28.5% and 29.5% of total revenues; and
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Interest expense to increase approximately $2.2 million over the
remainder of fiscal 2013 as a result of the issuance of the fixed-rate
notes discussed above on April 30, 2012.
Conference Call and Investor Conference Information
Conn’s, Inc. will host a conference call and audio webcast on Monday,
June 4, 2012, at 10:00 A.M. CT, to discuss its earnings and operating
performance for the quarter. A link to the live webcast, which will be
archived for one year, and slides to be referred to during the call will
be available at ir.Conns.com.
Participants can join the call by dialing 877-754-5302 or 678-894-3020.
Additionally, the Company has posted an updated investor presentation to
its investor relations web page.
Conn’s management will also be presenting at the Piper Jaffray Consumer
Conference in New York on Tuesday, June 5, 2012 at 4:35 P.M. ET. The
presentation will be webcast and can be accessed via the following link: http://www.media-server.com/m/p/4567d4wf.
Additionally, the presentation will be available for replay for 90 days
following the live presentation and will be accessible via the above
link or through ir.Conns.com.
About Conn’s, Inc.
The Company is a specialty retailer currently operating 64 retail
locations in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma: with 22 stores in the
Houston area, 14 in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, seven in San
Antonio, three in Austin, five in Southeast Texas, one in Corpus
Christi, four in South Texas, six in Louisiana and two in Oklahoma. The
Company’s primary product categories include:
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Home appliance, including refrigerators, freezers, washers, dryers,
dishwashers and ranges;
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Furniture and mattress, including furniture for the living room,
dining room, bedroom and related accessories and mattresses;
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Consumer electronic, including LCD, LED, 3-D, plasma and DLP
televisions, camcorders, digital cameras, Blu-ray and DVD players,
video game equipment, portable audio, MP3 players and home theater
products; and
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Home office, including desktop and notebook computers, tablets,
printers and computer accessories.
Additionally, the Company offers a variety of products on a seasonal
basis, including lawn and garden equipment, and continues to introduce
additional product categories for the home to help respond to its
customers’ product needs and to increase same store sales. Unlike many
of its competitors, the Company provides flexible in-house credit
options for its customers, in addition to third-party financing programs
and third-party rent-to-own payment plans. In the last three years, the
Company financed, on average, approximately 61%, including down
payments, of its retail sales under its in-house financing plan.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements generally can
be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may,"
"will," "expect," "intend," "could," "estimate," "should," "anticipate,"
or "believe," or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar
terminology. Although the Company believes that the expectations
reflected in such forward-looking statements will prove to be correct,
the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to
be correct. The actual future performance of the Company could differ
materially from such statements. Factors that could cause or contribute
to such differences include, but are not limited to:
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the Company’s growth strategy and plans regarding opening new
stores and entering new markets;
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the Company’s intention to update, relocate or expand existing
stores;
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the effect of closing or reducing the hours of operation of
existing stores;
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the Company’s estimated capital expenditures and costs related to
the opening of new stores or the update, relocation or expansion of
existing stores;
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the Company’s ability to introduce additional product categories;
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sales trends in the home appliance, consumer electronic and
furniture and mattress industries and the Company’s ability to respond
to those trends;
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changes in product sales or gross margin trends;
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the pricing actions and promotional activities of competitors;
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relationships with the Company’s key suppliers;
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changes in outstanding balance, delinquency and loss trends in the
receivables portfolio;
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the Company’s ability to offer flexible financing programs;
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changes in the interest and fee yield earned on the receivables
portfolio;
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changes in the Company’s underwriting and collection practices and
policies;
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changes in the costs to collect the receivables portfolio;
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the Company’s ability to amend, renew or replace its existing debt
or other credit arrangements before the maturity dates of such
arrangements;
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the Company’s ability to fund operations, debt repayment and
expansion from cash flow from operations, borrowings on its revolving
lines of credit and proceeds from securitizations and from accessing
debt or equity markets;
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the ability of the Company to obtain additional funding for the
purpose of funding the receivables generated by the Company;
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the ability of the Company to maintain compliance with the
covenants in its debt and other credit arrangements or obtain
amendments or waivers of the covenants to avoid violations or
potential violations of the covenants;
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changes in covenant requirements in future debt and other credit
arrangements;
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reduced availability under the Company’s credit facilities as a
result of borrowing base requirements and the impact on the borrowing
base calculation of changes in the performance or eligibility of the
customer receivables financed by that facility;
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the ability of the financial institutions providing lending
facilities to the Company to fund their commitments;
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the effect on borrowing costs of downgrades by rating agencies or
changes in laws or regulations on the Company’s financing providers;
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the cost of any amended, renewed or replacement debt or other
credit arrangements;
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interest rates;
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general economic and financial market conditions, including
conditions in the capital markets;
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weather conditions in the Company’s markets;
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the outcome of litigation or government investigations;
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changes in the Company’s stock price; and
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the actual number of shares of common stock outstanding.
Further information on these risk factors is included in the
Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including
the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on April 12, 2012. You
are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.
Except as required by law, the Company is not obligated to publicly
release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect the
events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to
reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
CONN’S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED, CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
(unaudited)
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
Three Months Ended
April 30,
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2012 2011
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Revenues
Total net sales $ 166,937 $ 157,070
Finance charges and other 33,914 34,912
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Total revenues 200,851 191,982
Cost and expenses
108,443 106,453
Cost of goods sold, including warehousing and occupancy costs
1,550 1,730
Cost of parts sold, including warehousing and occupancy costs
Selling, general and administrative expense 59,656 59,445
Provision for bad debts 9,185 9,564
Store closing costs 163 -
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Total cost and expenses 178,997 177,192
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Operating income 21,854 14,790
Interest expense 3,759 7,556
Other (income) expense, net (96 ) 52
------- - -------
Income before income taxes 18,191 7,182
Provision for income taxes 6,635 2,781
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Net income $ 11,556 $ 4,401
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Earnings per share:
Basic $ 0.36 $ 0.14
Diluted $ 0.35 $ 0.14
Average common shares outstanding:
Basic 32,195 31,768
Diluted 32,904 31,772
CONN’S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED RETAIL SEGMENT FINANCIAL INFORMATION
(unaudited)
(dollars in thousands)
Three Months Ended
April 30,
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2012 2011
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Revenues
Product sales $ 152,115 $ 144,279
Repair service agreement commissions 11,392 8,902
Service revenues 3,430 3,889
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Total net sales 166,937 157,070
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Finance charges and other 241 225
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Total revenues 167,178 157,295
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Cost and expenses
108,443 106,453
Cost of goods sold, including warehousing and occupancy costs
1,550 1,730
Cost of parts sold, including warehousing and occupancy costs
Selling, general and administrative expense 46,049 44,102
Provision for bad debts 212 143
Store closing costs 163 -
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Total cost and expenses 156,417 152,428
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Operating income 10,761 4,867
Other (income) expense, net (96 ) 52
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Segment income before income taxes $ 10,857 $ 4,815
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Retail gross margin 33.7 % 30.5 %
Selling, general and administrative expense as percent of revenues 27.5 % 28.0 %
Operating margin 6.4 % 3.1 %
Number of stores, end of period 65 76
CONN’S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CREDIT SEGMENT FINANCIAL INFORMATION
(unaudited)
(in thousands)
Three Months Ended
April 30,
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2012 2011
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Revenues
Finance charges and other $ 33,673 $ 34,687
----- ------ ----- ------
Cost and expenses
Selling, general and administrative expense 13,607 15,343
Provision for bad debts 8,973 9,421
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Total cost and expenses 22,580 24,764
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Operating income 11,093 9,923
Interest expense 3,759 7,556
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Segment income before income taxes $ 7,334 $ 2,367
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Selling, general and administrative expense as percent of revenues 40.4 % 44.2 %
Operating margin 32.9 % 28.6 %
MANAGED PORTFOLIO STATISTICS
(dollars in thousands, except average outstanding balance per
account)
Three months ended April 30,
-----------------------------------
2012 2011
----------------- -----------------
Total accounts 458,493 491,441
Total outstanding balance $ 635,233 $ 625,487
Average outstanding balance per account $ 1,385 $ 1,273
Weighted average origination credit score of sales financed 615 623
Weighted average credit score of outstanding balances 601 589
Balance 60+ days delinquent $ 46,438 $ 44,453
Percent 60+ days delinquent 7.3 % 7.1 %
Percent 60-209 days delinquent 7.3 % 5.5 %
Percent of portfolio re-aged 11.6 % 19.4 %
Weighted average monthly payment rate (QTD) 6.1 % 6.4 %
Net charge-off ratio (YTD annualized) 8.5 % 6.8 %
Percentage of sales generated by payment option:
GE Capital 12.5 % 6.3 %
Conn’s Credit (including down payment) 66.9 % 55.0 %
RAC Acceptance (Rent-to-Own) 3.7 % 3.5 %
Total 83.1 % 64.8 %
CONDENSED, CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(unaudited)
(in thousands)
April 30, January 31,
2012 2012
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Assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents $ 6,730 $ 6,265
Customer accounts receivable, net 313,139 316,385
Other accounts receivable, net 35,414 38,715
Inventories 68,890 62,540
Deferred income taxes 16,007 17,111
Prepaid expenses and other assets 15,785 11,542
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Total current assets 455,965 452,558
Long-term customer accounts receivable, net 271,984 272,938
Property and equipment, net 40,257 38,484
Non-current deferred income tax asset 9,570 9,754
Other assets, net 10,856 9,564
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Total assets $ 788,632 $ 783,298
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Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Current Liabilities
Current portion of long-term debt $ 103,690 $ 726
Accounts payable 60,812 44,711
Accrued compensation and related expenses 7,494 7,213
Accrued expenses 22,314 24,030
Other current liabilities 18,547 17,994
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Total current liabilities 212,857 94,674
Long-term debt 194,396 320,978
Other long-term liabilities 12,894 14,275
Stockholders’ equity 368,485 353,371
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Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 788,632 $ 783,298
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CONN-F
SOURCE: Conn’s, Inc.
Conn’s, Inc., Beaumont
Chief Operating Officer
Mike Poppe, 409-832-1696 Ext. 3294
or
Investors:
S.M. Berger & Company
Andrew Berger, 216-464-6400
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