Pedestrians walk in front of a Williams-Sonoma Inc. store in San Francisco, California.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Williams-Sonoma reported fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday that exceeded analysts’ expectations as consumers continued to buy furniture and kitchenware while spending more time at home during the coronavirus pandemic.
The company’s shares rose more than 11% in the extended trades, as the company expects its growth to continue next year.
Here’s what the company reported for the fourth quarter ended January 31, compared to what Wall Street analysts had expected, using a Refinitiv survey:
- Earnings per share: $ 3.95 adjusted against expected $ 3.39
- Revenue: $ 2.29 billion versus expected $ 2.18 billion
“In the fourth quarter, despite shipping restrictions and low retail traffic, we delivered another quarter of accelerated revenue and profitability with 26% growth in comparison and over 85% growth in EPS,” said Laura Alber, President and CEO Williams-Sonoma, in a press release.
Net income rose to $ 309 million, or $ 3.92 per share, from $ 166 million, or $ 2.10 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, Williams-Sonoma earned $ 3.95 per share, exceeding the $ 3.39 per share expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv.
Revenue increased 24%, to $ 2.29 billion, from $ 1.84 billion a year ago, exceeding expectations of $ 2.18 billion.
The growth was driven by a 47.9% jump in e-commerce revenue, with around 70% of its total revenue coming from its e-commerce business.
Same-company sales across the company increased 25.7% in the last quarter, with all of its brands recording double-digit gains.
Its namesake brand, Williams-Sonoma, reported that same-store sales increased by 26.2%. Both Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids and Teen reported a 25.7% increase in sales at the same store. West Elm was right behind, with a 25.2% increase in same-store sales.
For fiscal year 2021, the retailer expects retail traffic to recover and inventory levels to improve.
The company said it expects its performance to be in line with its long-term financial goals, which predict medium to high digit revenue growth.
Despite the increase in vaccination rates across the country and routines slowly returning to normal, the retailer remains optimistic about the growth of its brands in the long term.
Alber expects the retailer to get a boost from favorable macro trends that will support his business in the long run. Among the factors she cited are high consumer confidence, a strong housing market, a shift to e-commerce and expectations that people will continue to spend more time working from home in the future.
During the conference call, the company also spoke about a wide range of goods.
“With more people being vaccinated, as trips start to open, as schools start to open, we have a big deal of equipment and bags. We hope people open their homes more, so our restaurants and restaurants are prepared for that”, said Felix Carbullido, the company’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer.
The company also added that the work at home lifestyle, which is expected to continue after the pandemic, will help the growth of its furniture brands as more people look for desks and other supplies.
Williams-Sonoma said it will increase its dividend by 11.3% to 59 cents a share. Meanwhile, his board approved plans to repurchase $ 1 billion in shares. The new repurchase plan replaces the previous authorization and will go into effect on March 17th.
Read the full earnings release here.