Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of Christopher & Banks Corporation (CBK) were looking stylish today, climbing as much as 17%, and finishing up 8% on a better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings report.
So what: The women's apparel retailer posted a loss of $0.01 per share, better than estimates of a $0.03 loss, while revenues fell 9.6% on a 1.4% drop in same-store sales, to $104.9 million, missing expectations of $106.6 million. Like other retailers, the company cited poor weather as part of the reason for the disappointing comps. Looking ahead, management expects same-store sales to be flat and a gross margin improvement of 50 to 70 basis points for the current quarter.
Now what: It may not have been a stellar quarter for Christopher & Banks, but low expectations can go a long way on the market sometimes. Today's report seemed to confirm that the company's turnaround strategy is going according to plan, as store closings were the major reason for the revenue decline, and the EPS loss was improved from -$0.11 a year ago. CEO LuAnn Via said the company's made strides in "refining merchandise assortment, maintaining healthy inventory levels, and creating compelling marketing plans." While I'd prefer to see meaningful profits before getting on board, Christopher & Banks certainly seems to be headed in the right direction.
