Much like the lines in its designs, Perry Ellis (Nasdaq: PERY) saw its results go straight up this past quarter. Since it caters to such a diverse clientele, from the couture crowd to hardcore skateboarders (imagine what the design sessions must be like!), there was a little something for everyone to enjoy.
The company earned $0.02 a share, with revenues growing better than 14% -- a flashy performance that reverses a loss of $0.17 a year earlier. A calendar shift helped boost the top line by shifting some sales to May, from April, and some also got moved to July, but that wasn't the whole story. In fact, several areas of the company did well, including the flagship Perry Ellis brand, golf and Hispanic lifestyles, direct retail, and international.
Gross margins expanded by an impressive 180 basis points, to 33.3%, and operating margins grew 190 points, to 2.6%. As a result, the company was able to strengthen its balance sheet. The company has repaid almost all of its $61.4 million credit line and has brought long-term debt on the balance sheet down to $175.6 million.
The good news didn't come just from the quarter, either. For the first half of the fiscal year, revenues rose more than 10%. Taking everything into account, management increased its earnings guidance for the year, to $1.87-$1.91 a share from $1.81-$1.84. That could actually be a bit conservative if the company continues to exceed its performance plan.
Perry Ellis succeeds by offering so many products to such a wide audience. To get a good indication of its reach, just consider some of the places where its goods are sold: Macy's (NYSE: M), Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP), and Kohl's (NYSE: KSS). The company also owns its own retail outlets and Original Penguin retail stores. Perry Ellis licenses the Nike (NYSE: NKE) brand for swimwear and has claims on other brands, too, such as the PGA Tour and Dockers outerwear.
With a trailing price-to-earnings ratio of 18, this stock may be for the value-conscious. Consumers seem to be pleased with the wide array of product offerings, and that alone should be enough to leave investors smiling.
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Fool contributor Larry Rothman is happy to receive feedback, and he promises to read it when he's not being wrestled by his three children. He doesn't have any positions in the companies mentioned.
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