Poor December sales compel Bon-Ton to revise full-year guidance

REPORT _ The Bon-Ton Stores has announced that its December

comparable store sales results were significantly impacted by unfavorable winter weather conditions in its markets. Owing to the December results, company has revised its outlook for the fiscal year 2013 saying, its comparable store sales to decrease approximately 3.50 percent. “In light of this decrease, we are adjusting our fiscal 2013 guidance for Adjusted EBITDA to a range of 160 million dollars to 170 million dollars and for loss earnings per diluted share to a range of 0.30 dollars to 0.15 dollars,” opined Keith Plowman, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the company.

According to Brendan Hoffman, President and Chief Executive Officer, “We are disappointed with the deceleration in sales during December, particularly given the strong start to the holiday season beginning with Black Friday and extending through the early part of the month. Adverse weather and treacherous travel conditions in the majority of our markets resulted in a sharp reduction in traffic and hampered promotional events on key weekend selling dates leading up to and continuing after Christmas.”

Hoffman further added saying, “Despite the sales shortfall, due to our continued strategic inventory reductions, we ended the month with inventory levels well below that of the prior year, which positions us well as we transition into the spring season. We believe that we are heading in the right direction with our merchandise assortment and will continue to focus on executing our long-term initiatives while managing through a difficult retail environment.”

The York-based company will provide additional details in early March when it reports its results for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2013 periods ending February 1, 2014.