Francesca's Stock Plunges After Profit, Sales And Outlook Miss Expectations

Shares of Francesca's Holdings Corp. plunged 13% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the specialty apparel and accessories retailer missed fiscal first-quarter profit and sales expectations and provided a downbeat outlook. Net profit for the quarter to April 29 fell to $4.3 million, or 12 cents a share, from $7.1 million, or 18 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. That missed the FactSet consensus for earnings per share of 14 cents. Sales rose 1% to $107.7 million from $106.1 million, but was below the FactSet consensus of $113.2 million, as improved sales trends in April wasn't enough to offset soft sales in February and March. Same-store sales declined 5.0%, due primarily to a decline in boutique traffic and conversion rates, compared with the FactSet consensus for a 0.5% decline. For the second quarter, the company expects EPS of 13 cents to 18 cents, below the FactSet consensus of 28 cents. Sales are expected to be $120 million to $124 million for the current quarter, below the FactSet consensus of $126.2 million, while same-store sales guidance of down 3% to up 1% compares with the FactSet consensus of up 1.5%. The stock has plunged 33% year to date through Monday, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has lost 6.3% and the S&P 500 has gained 8.8%.