Stein Mart Profits, Sales Rise in Q4

Stein Mart Inc. concluded 2014 with its third-best quarterly comparable sales increase since 2010, helping it to fourth-quarter sales and profits that exceeded prior-year levels and analysts’ consensus estimates. With comps up 5.6 percent in the quarter, net income for three months ended Jan. 31 rose 65.8 percent to $12.3 million, or 27 cents a diluted share, from $7.4 million, or 16 cents, in the year-ago period. Eliminating special items, such as expenses related to its 2012 financial restatement and associated Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, adjusted EPS was 32 cents, 3 cents above the consensus estimate. Sales rose 7.3 percent to $387 million from $360.8 million in the year-ago quarter, beating Wall Street’s expectations for $386.2 million. Gross margin in the quarter dipped to 29.4 percent of sales from 30.9 percent in the 2013 period. The only superior comp performances in the last five years came in the second quarter of 2013, when comps were up 6.4 percent, and the fourth quarter of 2012, when they were up 6 percent. On a conference call with analysts Thursday morning, Greg Kleffner, chief financial officer of the company, said that sales increases in the quarter came from improvements in average unit retail prices, the number

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