Urban Outfitters ends solid year with record Q4 sales and EPS

By

Robin Driver

Published
Mar 6, 2019

Philadelphia-based fashion and lifestyle group Urban Outfitters, Inc. reported record quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.80 on Tuesday, beating out Wall Street estimates to finish the year with progress across its brand portfolio. According to FactSet figures cited by MarketWatch, analysts had expected the company to report EPS of $0.79.

 
The group’s net income for the fourth quarter ended January 31, 2019, totaled $86.4 million, a vast improvement from the $1.3 million reported in the prior-year period, when earnings suffered from the significant negative impact of a one-time tax expense of $64.7 million related to the US Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
 
As previously reported, the company’s Q4 net sales rose 3.7% from $1.09 billion to a record $1.13 billion. Comparable retail segment sales increased 3% in the period, reflecting double-digit growth in the retailer’s digital channel, partially offset by negative store sales. Wholesale revenues rose 3%.

Both the company’s Urban Outfitters and Free People brands posted an increase in comparable retail segment sales of 4%, while Anthropologie Group saw a rise of 2%.
 
“The fourth quarter closed what was an incredibly successful year for URBN and all of our brands,” commented the company’s CEO Richard A. Hayne in a release. “I want to thank our associates worldwide for producing a record year and for their dedication, drive and creativity.”
 
For the full fiscal year 2019, Urban Outfitters, Inc. reported net income of $298.0 million, or $2.72 per diluted share, compared to $108.3 million, or $0.96 per diluted share, in the previous year.
 
Total company sales came to $4.0 billion, up 9.3% from $3.62 billion. Comparable retail segment sales increased 8% over the course of the year, reflecting double-digit growth in the digital channel and positive retail store sales. Wholesale segment net sales rose 10%.
 
Annual sales at the Urban Outfitters brand increased from $1.40 billion to $1.53 billion, while Anthropologie Group sales totaled $1.60 billion, compared to $1.47 billion in the previous year.

Over the course of the fiscal year, the group opened a total of 18 company-operated stores and added the company's first five franchisee-owned locations to its retail network.

Following the opening of Anthropologie’s first Spanish in Barcelona store last month, Peter Ruis, managing director of the brand’s international business, spoke to FashionNetwork.com about the label’s plans to accelerate its European expansion in the coming year, with store openings planned in Germany, Paris, Amsterdam and Madrid.
 
Shares in Urban Outfitters, Inc. were up more than 3% in the extended session on Tuesday after the company reported its fourth-quarter and full-year results.