By Senad Karaahmetovic
Shares of Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) are moving higher in pre-market Thursday after the retailer reported better-than-expected Q4 results.
The company posted EPS of $2.96 on revenue of $2.74 billion, beating the average analyst consensus for earnings of $2.68 on sales of $2.6B. Comparable sales dropped 2% year-over-year, better than the expected decrease of 6.4%.
"I am pleased with the improvement in our sales trend during the fourth quarter. We saw monthly comps accelerate as we moved through the quarter, and this stronger trend has continued through February," Michael O'Sullivan, CEO, stated.
"The acceleration in our trend was partly driven by improved conversion and basket size, which we attribute to more compelling value in our assortment, but was also driven by improved traffic, which we interpret as a sign that the headwinds that we saw through most of 2022 are beginning to moderate."
For this quarter, BURL sees EPS at $0.90 (up or down 5 cents), above the market consensus of $0.81. Comparable sales are seen rising 5-7%, much better than analysts' expectations for a growth of 2.7%. Overall revenue is expected to climb 12-14%.
On a full-year basis, Burlington sees EPS in the range of $5.50-6.00 and sales growth of 12-14%. Analysts were looking for a full-year profit of $6.62 per share. Comparable sales are seen rising 4% at the midpoint, ahead of the 3.4% consensus.
BMO analysts took note of the beat-and-raise quarter.
"BURL reported a strong top- and bottom-line beat, noting monthly comps accelerated through the quarter (improved conversion, basket size and traffic) with strong trends continuing through February, introducing a better-than-Street 1Q and FY revenue guidance and a lower-than-Street FY EPS (a rare combo which should presumably bolster confidence in the FY guide’s conservativism)," the analysts said in a note.
Vital Knowledge analysts also highlighted "bullish" commentary in the press release.
BURL stock trades 1.4% higher in pre-market Thursday.