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SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 21, 2019--
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE: WSM) today announced operating results for the third fiscal quarter ended November 3, 2019 (“Q3 19”) versus the third fiscal quarter ended October 28, 2018 (“Q3 18”).
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Laura Alber, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Q3 marks another quarter of strong performance. Comparable revenues accelerated to 5.5%, non-GAAP operating margins held flat to last year despite increased tariff headwinds and non-GAAP EPS grew 7.4%. Our results and continued success relative to the industry reflect that our strong value proposition of high quality, design-led, sustainable products is resonating with our customers. In a fragmented home furnishings industry, it is hard to overstate how important it has been for us to continually evolve to stay ahead of the pack and remain at the forefront of driving profitable growth. Importantly, our digital-first model is a key component of our success.”
Alber continued, “Our year-to-date performance gives us the confidence that we can carry this momentum forward in the holiday season and beyond. As a result, we are raising the low end of our full-year 2019 guidance and reiterating our long term financial targets.”
THIRD QUARTER 2019
GUIDANCE
Fiscal Year 2019*
Long-Term Financial Targets*
*We have not provided a reconciliation of non-GAAP guidance measures to the corresponding GAAP measures on a forward-looking basis due to the potential variability and limited visibility of excluded items. Guidance assumptions include the financial impact from all China tariffs.
CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST INFORMATION
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will host a live conference call today, November 21, 2019, at 2:00 P.M. (PT). The call, hosted by Laura Alber, President and Chief Executive Officer, will be open to the general public via live webcast and can be accessed at http://ir.williams-sonomainc.com/events. A replay of the webcast will be available at http://ir.williams-sonomainc.com/events.
SEC REGULATION G — NON-GAAP INFORMATION
This press release includes non-GAAP financial measures. Exhibit 1 provides reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“GAAP”). We have not provided a reconciliation of non-GAAP guidance measures to the corresponding GAAP measures on a forward-looking basis due to the potential variability and limited visibility of excluded items; these excluded items include expenses related to the operations of Outward, Inc. and employment-related expense. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures, when reviewed in conjunction with GAAP financial measures, can provide meaningful supplemental information for investors regarding the performance of our business and facilitate a meaningful evaluation of current period performance on a comparable basis with prior periods. Our management uses these non-GAAP financial measures in order to have comparable financial results to analyze changes in our underlying business from quarter to quarter. In addition, certain other items may be excluded from non-GAAP financial measures when the company believes this provides greater clarity to management and investors. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered as a supplement to, and not as a substitute for or superior to the GAAP financial measures presented in this press release and our financial statements and other publicly filed reports. Non-GAAP measures as presented herein may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they do not fully materialize or are proven incorrect, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include statements relating to: our ability to capture significant opportunities in the home furnishings industry; increase our market share; our ability to continue to improve performance; our focus on operational excellence; our ability to improve customers’ experience; our optimism about the future; our ability to maximize growth and maintain high profitability; our FY 2019 and long-term financial guidance; our stock repurchase program and dividend expectations; and our proposed store openings and closures.
The risks and uncertainties that could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include: continuing changes in general economic conditions, and the impact on consumer confidence and consumer spending; new interpretations of or changes to current accounting rules; our ability to anticipate consumer preferences and buying trends; dependence on timely introduction and customer acceptance of our merchandise; changes in consumer spending based on weather, political, competitive and other conditions beyond our control; delays in store openings; competition from companies with concepts or products similar to ours; timely and effective sourcing of merchandise from our foreign and domestic vendors and delivery of merchandise through our supply chain to our stores and customers; effective inventory management; our ability to manage customer returns; successful catalog management, including timing, sizing and merchandising; uncertainties in e-marketing, infrastructure and regulation; multi-channel and multi-brand complexities; our ability to introduce new brands and brand extensions; challenges associated with our increasing global presence; dependence on external funding sources for operating capital; disruptions in the financial markets; our ability to control employment, occupancy and other operating costs; our ability to improve our systems and processes; changes to our information technology infrastructure; general political, economic and market conditions and events, including war, conflict or acts of terrorism; the impact of current and potential future tariffs and our ability to mitigate impacts; and other risks and uncertainties described more fully in our public announcements, reports to stockholders and other documents filed with or furnished to the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 3, 2019 and all subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
ABOUT WILLIAMS-SONOMA, INC.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is a specialty retailer of high-quality products for the home. These products, representing distinct merchandise strategies — Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, West Elm, Pottery Barn Teen, Williams Sonoma Home, Rejuvenation, and Mark and Graham — are marketed through e-commerce websites, direct-mail catalogs and retail stores. These brands are also part of The Key Rewards, our free-to-join loyalty program that offers members exclusive benefits across the Williams-Sonoma family of brands. We operate in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, offer international shipping to customers worldwide, and have unaffiliated franchisees that operate stores in the Middle East, the Philippines, Mexico and South Korea, as well as e-commerce websites in certain locations. In 2017, we acquired Outward, Inc., a 3-D imaging and augmented reality platform for the home furnishings and décor industry.
WSM-IR
SEC Regulation G – Non-GAAP Information
These tables include non-GAAP gross profit, gross margin, selling, general and administrative expense, operating income, operating margin, income taxes, effective tax rate and diluted EPS. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information for investors regarding the performance of our business and facilitate a meaningful evaluation of our quarterly actual results on a comparable basis with prior periods. Our management uses these non-GAAP financial measures in order to have comparable financial results to analyze changes in our underlying business from quarter to quarter. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered as a supplement to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP.
Notes to Exhibit 1:
View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191121005842/en/
CONTACT: Julie Whalen EVP, Chief Financial Officer – (415) 616 8524
Elise Wang VP, Investor Relations – (415) 616 8571
KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA CALIFORNIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: ONLINE RETAIL RETAIL LUXURY CATALOG HOME GOODS SPECIALTY
SOURCE: Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
Copyright Business Wire 2019.
PUB: 11/21/2019 04:15 PM/DISC: 11/21/2019 04:15 PM
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