Bed Bath & Beyond Stock Plunges on What CEO Calls ‘Unsatisfactory’ Fiscal Third Quarter Results

“I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead this iconic company,” stated Mark J. Tritton, Bed Bath & Beyond’s President and CEO. “Our performance in the third quarter was unsatisfactory and underscores the imperative for change and strengthens our sense of priorities and purpose. We must respond to the challenges we face as a business, including pressured sales and profitability, and reconstruct a modern, durable model for long-term profitable growth. Fortunately, the foundation of the Company’s transformation is well underway, due in large part to the direction and support of the Board. We will be finalizing the details of our strategic plan over the next few months and appreciate your patience as we embark and pursue this journey to position Bed Bath & Beyond to deliver long-term, sustainable growth.”

Fiscal 2019 Third Quarter Results

For the fiscal 2019 third quarter, the Company reported a net loss of $(0.31) per diluted share ($(38.6) million), which included a net benefit of $0.07 from the favorable impact from an adjustment to the incremental inventory reserve for future markdowns associated with its inventory initiative, that was partially offset by a non-cash charge for the impairment of certain store-level assets. This compares to net earnings of $0.18 per diluted share ($24.4 million) for the fiscal 2018 third quarter, which included the favorable impact of $0.16 per diluted share from the gain on the sale of a building. Excluding these net favorable impacts in both periods, the Company reported an adjusted net loss of $(0.38) per diluted share ($(46.9) million) for the fiscal 2019 third quarter, compared to adjusted net earnings of $0.02 per diluted share ($2.7 million) for the fiscal 2018 third quarter. Net sales for the fiscal 2019 third quarter were $2.8 billion, a decrease of 9.0% compared to the prior year period. Comparable sales in the fiscal 2019 third quarter declined 8.3%.

The Company’s fiscal 2019 third quarter was significantly impacted by the calendar shift of the Thanksgiving holiday this year resulting in one less week of holiday sales compared to the prior year period. Adjusting for this calendar shift to include Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday weeks in both periods, comparable sales for the fiscal 2019 third quarter declined 3.6%. During the key five-day shopping period from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday for both this year and last year, comparable sales on a shifted basis increased 7.1%.

Capital Allocation

Today, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share payable on April 14, 2020 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 13, 2020.

The Company repurchased $1.2 million of its common stock, representing 87,000 shares, during the fiscal 2019 third quarter.

The Company ended the fiscal 2019 third quarter with $920 million in cash and investments, compared with $1.0 billion in cash and investments at the end of the fiscal 2018 third quarter.

Outlook

The Company expects its sales and profitability to remain pressured during the fiscal 2019 fourth quarter. Considering these headwinds reflected in the Company’s results to date, and the ongoing work by recently appointed President & CEO Mark Tritton to assess the business and finalize the details of the Company’s go-forward strategic plan as well as the extensive senior leadership changes within the past month, the Company believes it is appropriate to withdraw its fiscal 2019 full year financial guidance.

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