Ross Stores sales decline, posts loss

Ross Stores, Inc. said, both, first quarter sales and earnings reflect the closure of all Ross Dress for Less and Dd’s Discounts locations starting on March 20th through the quarter end due to the ongoing spread of Covid-19 throughout the United States. For the 13 weeks ended May 2, 2020, the company reported a loss per share of 87 cents, versus earnings per share of 1.15 dollars for the prior year period, while the net loss was 306 million dollars compared to net income of 421 million dollars last year. Total first quarter sales were 1.8 billion dollars, down from 3.8 billion dollars in the prior year.

Commenting on the first quarter trading, Barbara Rentler, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, said in a statement: “Our first quarter results reflect the unprecedented impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on our business, which led to the closure of all stores and our first quarterly operating loss in more than 30 years. Operating margin for the period was negatively affected by the significant revenue decline from stores being closed for approximately half of the quarter and the aforementioned one-time, non-cash inventory valuation charge.”

The company said, on May 14, it began a phased process of reopening stores on a market by market basis and approximately 700 stores have reopened since, with the remaining stores expected to be reopened over the coming weeks.

“We have a very strong financial foundation with over 3 billion dollars in liquidity, which in addition to our cash balances includes a new 500 million dollars revolving credit facility. All of this makes us confident in our ability to successfully navigate through these challenging times,” added Rentler.

Picture:Facebook/Ross Stores