Destination Maternity Surges; Culp, Fred's, Michaels Plunge

Mukesh Buch
14 Jun, 2018
New York City

Culp plummeted on weal forecast. Destination Maternity surged after net swung to profit. Fred''s net loss narrowed. The Michaels Companies tumbled after net plunged 63%.

[R]12:35 PM New York City, New York – Culp plummeted on weal forecast. Destination Maternity surged after net swung to profit. Fred''s net loss narrowed. The Michaels Companies tumbled after net plunged 63%.[/R]

Tollbooth Index slid 18.87 to 15,525.11 but for the year-to-date soared 12.8%.

Earnings Review

Culp Inc ((CULP)) plummeted 13.3% or $4.10 to $26.65 after the mattress and upholstery fabrics supplier reported net sales in the year ending on April 29 jumped 4.6% from a year ago to $323.7 million.

Net income in the year declined 6.3% to $20.9 million or $1.65 per diluted share from $22.3 million or $1.78 in the same quarter last year.

Culp forecasted first-quarter net sales to decline 10% and pretax profit to drop between $3.8 million to $4.8 million from reported pretax profit of $6.7 million in the same period a year ago.

Destination Maternity Corporation ((DEST)) surged 32.2% or $1.11 to $4.56 after the maternity apparel and accessories retailer said net sales in the first-quarter ending on April 29 slumped 3% from a year ago to $103.2 million.

Comparable store sales in the quarter fell 0.1%.

Net in the quarter swung to profit $0.2 million or 2 cents per diluted share from a loss of $1.1 million or 8 cents in the same quarter last year.

Fred''s, Inc ((FRED)) declined 7.1% or 12 cents to $1.63 after the retail stores operator stated net sales in the first-quarter ending on May 5 plummeted 5.8% from a year ago to $437.1 million.

Comparable store sales in the quarter dropped 3.9% but online sales surged 43%.

Net loss in the quarter narrowed to $19.9 million or 54 cents per diluted share from $37.8 million or $1.02 in the same quarter last year.

The Michaels Companies Inc ((MIK)) tumbled 17.4% or $3.82 to $18.12 after the arts and crafts specialty retailer reported net sales in the first-quarter ending on May 5 slid 0.3% from a year ago to $1.6 billion.

Comparable store sales in the quarter increased 0.4%.

Net income in the quarter plunged 62.7% to $26.9 million or 15 cents per diluted share from $72.2 million or 38 cents in the same quarter last year.

The specialty retailer forecasted fiscal 2018 revenues growth in the range of between $5.22 billion and $5.29 billion and comparable store sales to increase between 0% and 1.5% and diluted earnings per share between $2.19 and $2.32.

Nucor Corporation ((NUE)) gained 1% or 67 cents to $67.44 after the steelmaker forecasted second-quarter diluted earnings per share in the range of $2.05 to $2.10 compared to the first-quarter of $1.10 and $1 from a year ago period.

Nucor said significant increase in earnings strong market conditions and sustainable strength in steel end use markets.