Ascena retail group, inc. (ASNA) saw its loss widen to $35.20 million, or $0.18 a share for the quarter ended Jan. 28, 2017. In the previous year period, the company reported a loss of $22.60 million, or $0.12 a share. On an adjusted basis, net loss for the quarter stood at $13.70 million, or $0.07 a share compared with a net profit of $1.70 million, or $0.01 a share in the last year period.
Revenue during the quarter dropped 5.08 percent to $1,748.20 million from $1,841.80 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter expanded 154 basis points over the previous year period to 54.10 percent. Operating margin for the quarter stood at negative 2.56 percent as compared to a negative 0.91 percent for the previous year period.
Operating loss for the quarter was $44.70 million, compared with an operating loss of $16.80 million in the previous year period.
However, the adjusted operating income for the quarter stood at $2.80 million compared to $29.10 million in the prior year period. At the same time, adjusted operating margin contracted 142 basis points in the quarter to 0.16 percent from 1.58 percent in the last year period.
David Jaffe, president and chief executive officer of ascena retail group, inc., commented, "Reflecting on our second quarter results, we saw a continuation of trends that have been in place for some time. While we remain generally pleased with selling performance during peaks, our base business remained soft due to ongoing store traffic headwinds and overall customer price sensitivity, which have become persistent issues impacting our larger sector. While our second quarter comp sales were in line with our guidance, we were forced to be much more promotional than planned to achieve this level of performance."
For the third-quarter 2017, On an adjusted basis, Ascena retail group, inc. expects diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $0.07 to $0.12.
For fiscal year 2017, Ascena retail group, inc. expects diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $0.37 to $0.42 on adjusted basis.
Debt remains almost stable
Total debt of Ascena retail group, inc. remained almost stable for the quarter at $1,532 million, when compared with the last year period. Total debt stood at $1,532 million as on Jan. 28, 2017.
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