There’s nothing like an impressive quarter and raised guidance to goose a company’s share price. Such is the situation with retailer Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR), which reported fiscal 2017 third quarter that greatly pleased investors.
For the period, the company’s revenue was largely flat compared to the same quarter last year, at just under $476 million. That was on the back of same-store sales that rose by 1.8%. Adjusted net profit came in at $17.6 million ($0.22 per share), more than double the $7.5 million of the year-ago period.
Both line items exceeded analysts’ expectations. On average, these anticipated a top line of $466.4 million, and an adjusted net profit of $0.12 per share.
In the press release heralding the results, CEO Alex Smith said, “We are making progress on our strategies to deliver shareholder value through our merchandising, marketing, supply chain and real estate initiatives. Our seasonal assortments are resonating with customers and we’re seeing strength across nearly all our product categories.”
The retailer lifted its guidance for its current fiscal year. It now believes it will post a revenue decline of 2% to 4%, an improvement from its previous forecast of a 4% to 6% fall. It’s now modeling a per-share profit of $0.37 to $0.41, well above the preceding estimate of $0.24 to $0.32.
Concurrent with the earnings release, the company named Smith’s successor. On Jan. 1, Chairman Terry London will become interim president and CEO of the company. London began serving on the board in 2003, and has been chairman since the summer of 2012. In conjunction with executive search firm Korn Ferry, the company is on the hunt for a permanent replacement.
Pier 1 announced in September that Smith would step down from his position at the end of this year.
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