Net income for the first quarter increased to $7.1 million from $2.2 million in the first quarter last year, with sales rising to $201.5 million from last year's $150 million for the first quarter. Comparable store sales increased 15.6% during the quarter, compared to a decrease of 9.9% for the first quarter of fiscal 2005.
Mark Hoffman, CEO, noted during the conference call that the comparable store sales increased "in double digits" in both of the company's brands, Charlotte Russe and Rampage. Also, he noted, the increased earnings came in spite of expenses for stock options and bonuses that were not reflected in last year's first quarter results.
"We feel this earnings performance is a very significant improvement over the difficult performance that we reported in the same quarter last year," Hoffman said during the conference call. He added, however, that "While progress has been made, we are very clear that much more is needed" to reclaim market share and "to rebuild average store volumes back to historical levels."
Charlotte Russe Holding Inc. is a mall-based specialty retailer that targets women in their teens and 20s. It operates a total of 422 stores in 43 states and Puerto Rico, with 356 of them under the Charlotte Russe brand and 66 Rampage stores. The 35 new stores this year will be Charlotte Russe locations, scheduled to open by the fiscal year end in September.
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