By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Shoe Carnival stock (NASDAQ:SCVL) stock traded 7% higher after the footwear retailer issued an optimistic outlook for the year while also approving a 29% dividend increase.
The company delivered double-digit sales growth and triple-digit growth in profit per share during every quarter of 2021. It completed a multi-year store productivity improvement program, its benefits reflecting in the positive cash flow each of its 323 stores generated in the financial year gone by.
The company is now expecting its current-year operating revenue to be $142 million to $154 million, almost thrice its pre-pandemic 2019 level. Profit per share is seen at $3.85 at the midpoint of its guidance range, compared to $1.46 in 2019 as consumers return to stores with greater focus on health while they also re-do their wardrobes after two years of the pandemic.
Sales in the current year are seen rising by 4% to 7% on top of the over 36% increase in 2021 sales to $1.33 billion.
President and CEO Mark Worden said momentum in the fourth quarter “was very strong." Store traffic is up 18%.
Net sales in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 29 jumped 23% to $313 million, driven by an increase in store traffic and new customer acquisition. Adjusted profit per share more than doubled to 72 cents to beat estimates.
Merchandise margin rose 5.1 percentage points, driven by fewer margin-dilutive promotions and higher average selling prices.
Working on a plan to accelerate store count expansion, the company aims to add 10+, 20+ and 25+ new stores in the three years through 2024, respectively.