Steve Madden Q4 Retail Comps Down 6.7%; Sees FY13 EPS At Low End Of Range

(RTTNews) - Steve Madden Ltd (SHOO), a designer and marketer of fashion footwear and accessories for women, men and children, announced sales results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, updated its fiscal year 2013 earnings per share guidance and provided initial fiscal year 2014 sales and earnings per share guidance.

For the fourth quarter, net sales were $342.6 million, an 8.6% increase over the same period of 2012. Net sales for the wholesale division grew 10.5% to $273.1 million. Retail net sales rose 1.7% to $69.5 million. Retail comparable store sales for the fourth quarter of 2013 decreased 6.7%.

For fiscal year 2013, net sales were $1.314 billion, a 7.1% increase compared to fiscal year 2012. Wholesale net sales grew 6.6% to $1.104 billion. Retail net sales rose 9.6% to $209.6 million. Retail comparable store sales for the fiscal year 2013 decreased 2.1%.

The company now expects earnings per share for the fiscal year 2013 to be about $1.97, the low end of the previously provided guidance range of $1.97 - $2.03. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $2.00 per share for fiscal 2013. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

For fiscal year 2014, the company expects that net sales will increase 5% - 7% over net sales in 2013. Earnings per share is expected to be in the range of $2.05 - $2.15. This guidance range includes the impact of a higher projected tax rate in 2014, which negatively impacts earnings per share by about $0.03. Street currently is looking for fiscal year 2014 earnings of $2.29 per share on annual revenues of $1.43 billion.

Edward Rosenfeld, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Looking ahead, while we are confident that we can maintain solid momentum in our wholesale business, we are cautious on the near-term outlook for our retail segment given the recent softness in traffic and sales trends."