Pier 1 Imports Sees Net Loss In Q1 And FY19 On Strategic Plan Implementation

(RTTNews) - Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (PIR) said it will host an Analyst Day today to provide a detailed view of its "Pier 1 2021: A New Day" three-year strategic plan and discuss the company's financial outlook. The company forecast net loss for the first quarter and fiscal 2019 as a result of its investments in the strategic plan.

Pier 1 President and CEO Alasdair James and other members of the executive leadership team will share insights from their analysis of the Pier 1 Imports brand and enterprise, as well as operating strategies and growth plans under Pier 1 2021: A New Day.

The company noted that Pier 1 2021: A New Day is designed to improve the company's brand proposition, capture operating efficiencies and drive sales growth.

The company expects capital investments in fiscal 2019 to total $60 million, including about $45 million of expenditures for the strategic plan, primarily deployed toward information technology, supply chain and stores.

"In fiscal 2019, we will be investing in the tools and resources needed to execute against our plan. This will pressure profitability, bringing us to an expected net loss for both the first quarter and full year," said CEO James.

However, the company added that as the results of the plan are fully realized in fiscal 2021, it expects to achieve sustainable net sales growth of 4 percent to 6 percent, EBITDA margin of 6 percent to 8 percent, and earnings per share in the range of $0.60 to $0.70.

Accordingly, for the first quarter of fiscal 2019, the company forecasts reported loss per share of $0.41 to $0.37, and company comparable sales of negative 8.0 percent to negative 7.0 percent.

For fiscal 2019, the company projects reported loss per share of $0.36 to $0.17 and company comparable sales of 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report loss of $0.06 per share for the first quarter and earnings of $0.02 per share for fiscal 2019. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.