Wilsons Expects Loss For Quarter Will Be Wider Than Forecast
BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. -- Wilsons the Leather Experts Inc. expects to report a net loss of 21 cents to 23 cents a share for its fiscal first quarter, wider than the most recent Thomson Financial/First Call analysts' consensus estimate of a loss of 12 cents a share.</br></br>The specialty retailer of leather outerwear, apparel and accessories said first-quarter sales rose 30% to $117.5 million from $90.3 million a year earlier, but same-store sales rose only 2.1%, compared with a 7.2% increase for the same period a year before. For last year's fiscal first quarter ended April 29, Wilsons posted a loss of $1.38 million, or eight cents a share. Excluding items, the company's year-ago loss was five cents a share.</br></br>The retailer also expects to report a loss for its fiscal second quarter of $1.01 to $1.03 per share, which is in line with the $1.01-a-share loss expected by analysts. Wilsons said it expects sales of $106 million to $109 million for the second quarter.</br></br>For the full fiscal year ending in January, Wilsons said it expects to earn $2.75 to $2.85 a share on sales of $842 million to $852 million. The most recent consensus estimate had seen the company reporting profit of $2.94 a share for the full year.</br></br>Joel Waller, chairman and chief executive, said the wider-than-expected fiscal first-quarter loss estimate is due to the decision to accelerate the closing of four stores, lower comparable-store sales in April because of the timing of Easter and the performance of its newly acquired Bentley's Luggage Corp. unit.