Torrid reports record annual sales despite Omicron impact

Plus-size womenswear brand Torrid has reported record annual sales in the year to January 29 despite Omicron impacting its fourth quarter performance.

The US womenswear brand, which specialises in fashion for sizes 10 to 30, made net sales of 313.9 million dollars in the fourth quarter, an increase of 5.5 percent compared to a year earlier and 15.8 percent higher than two years ago.

Torrid CEO Liz Muñoz hailed the “significant progress” the company made across its growth strategy despite facing challenges like the emergence of Omicron, which particularly impacted the business in January.

The Omicron variant led to temporary labor shortages in Torrid’s distribution center, which resulted in approximately 14 million dollars of sales delayed into the first quarter of 2022.

Despite the strong sales, the brand made a net loss of 22.8 million dollars in the fourth quarter, compared to a loss of 8.8 million dollars a year earlier. Its Q4 adjusted net income came in at 9.7 million dollars, down from 23.8 million dollars the prior year.

For the full year, the brand reported record net sales of 1.278 billion dollars, a 31.4 percent increase from a year earlier and a 23.3 percent increase compared to two years ago.

The company swung to an annual net loss of 29.9 million dollars compared to a net income of 24.5 million dollars a year earlier, while it made an adjusted net income of 121.2 million dollars compared to 32.3 million dollars the prior year.

“I am extremely proud of what we accomplished in 2021, including record levels of net sales and adjusted EBITDA, with growth outpacing our long-term targets,” Muñoz said.

“Looking ahead, we remain confident in our ability to deliver against our long-term plan and drive shareholder value,” she said.

For the full year fiscal 2022, Torrid now expects net sales of between 1.3 billion dollars to 1.365 billion dollars, and for adjusted EBITDA of between 195 million dollars and 220 million dollars.