Now that it has beat analysts' expectations for the third consecutive quarter, I think we can officially consider 1-800-Flowers (NASDAQ:FLWS) to be on a successful streak. In its fiscal third quarter, the online florist increased earnings, sales, and margins, beating estimates for lower earnings.
1-800-Flowers earned $1.1 million, or $0.02 per share, after posting a loss of $1.5 million, or $0.02 per share, a year ago. Revenue grew 18.8% to $213.8 million with improvements in each segment, excluding the home and children's gifts one.
The biggest increase -- 150% -- was in the gourmet food and gift basket business, which continues to be boosted by the Fannie May candy business purchased last May. Of the $21.4 million increase in the segment, $17.3 million was attributed to the acquisition. We'll get a better sense of the company's performance in future quarters, when the results from Fanny May are included in both periods.
The company continues to struggle with its home and children's gifts business, where revenues dropped 7.1%. 1-800-Flowers is in the midst of overhauling this segment, making changes to management, updating the look of its catalog, and hiring a consulting firm to make further improvements. The company says it's already seeing progress because of its initiatives; however, I can't imagine how much worse this segment would have performed had it not taken these steps. Still, I'd like to actually see some positive growth before considering the changes successful.
Looking ahead a bit, management reiterated its expectations of more than doubling its per-share earnings for the year. Last year, it earned $0.10 per share, excluding stock-based compensation. However, it said revenues would come in at the lower end of its guidance of $914.6 million to $938 million because of weak sales in the home and children's gifts area.
As it continues to expand its other areas, 1-800-Flowers also will increase the number of competitors it faces. In addition to FTD (NYSE:FTD), it must also contend with the likes of RedEnvelope (NASDAQ:REDE) and online juggernaut Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN). While it certainly seems to be improving, until it can show consistent organic growth outside its floral operations and improve on positive earnings without the benefit of acquisitions, I'd rather take a wait-and-see approach.
For more on the growth at 1-800-Flowers, check out:
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Fool contributor Mike Cianciolo welcomes feedback and doesn't own any of the companies in this article.
