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Leibish & Co

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Zale Corp. Sales Up, Losses Decline


Zale Corp. on Wednesday said year-over-year third quarter revenues increased 14.5 percent to $412 million. Same store sales for the period ended April 30, increased 15.2 percent, compared to a decrease of 2.2 percent during the same period last year. At constant exchange rates, which exclude the effect of translating Canadian currency denominated sales into U.S. dollars, same store sales increased 14.2 percent for the quarter.

The specialty jewelry retailer with operates jewelry chains in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico reported a net loss from continuing operations of $10 million in the third quarter, compared to a net loss from continuing operations of $15 million in the comparable quarter last year.

For the quarter, gross margin on sales was $206 million, an increase of 13 percent compared to $183 million in the same period last year. The company achieved gross margin on sales of 50.1 percent, compared to 50.8 percent in the comparable quarter last year.

“We continue to make progress in our multi-year initiatives to return the company to profitability,” said Theo Killion, Zale Corp. CEO. “Our results validate that the work we’ve done to improve our marketing, our product and our guest experience is beginning to take hold.”

Zale Corp. operates approximately 1,845 retail locations throughout the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, as well as online. The company’s brands include Zales Jewelers, Zales Outlet, Gordon's Jewelers, Peoples Jewellers, Mappins Jewellers and Piercing Pagoda.