Smelling like roses despite the COVID-19 pandemic mauling the U.S. economy in March, 1-800-Flowers.com (FLWS 1.42%) reported year-over-year double-digit net revenue gains for the third quarter of 2020 in the earnings report it issued today. Both earnings per share (EPS) and revenue came in above analyst estimates, while the company also issued upbeat guidance for next quarter and the full fiscal year.
Thomson Reuters polling indicated analysts predicted EPS at a $0.17 per-share loss, while expecting $266.58 million in net revenue. Instead, 1-800-Flowers delivered $0.14 per-share losses for the quarter, $0.03 less than forecast. Net revenue rose by 12.2% year over year, amounting to $278.8 million and beating the analyst figure by approximately 4.6%. The company also posted an adjusted EBITDA loss of $2.4 million, an improvement over fiscal Q3 2019's $4.4 million loss.
Image source: 1-800-Flowers.
All three of 1-800-Flower's main segments blossomed during the quarter, with consumer floral yielding 5.4% net revenue, BloomNet delivering 7.9%, and gourmet foods and gift baskets flourishing by no less than 27.1%. The company says much of the growth in the last category comes from its recently acquired Shari's Berries brand, a service that enables customers to send gifts of chocolate-coated or drizzled strawberries.
While demand and sales sank briefly during late March, 1-800-Flowers reports that sales are now rebounding fast.
"We saw this pattern reverse as we entered our current fiscal fourth quarter and demand has increased significantly as consumers are increasingly turning to the 1-800-Flowers brand to help them express themselves and stay connected," CEO Chris McMann said.
1-800-Flowers' stock is currently trading up approximately 2.5% after rising more than 5% earlier today.
