Financial Outlook
“Clearly, fiscal 2021 was an exceptional year for Caleres with the company delivering record adjusted earnings per share,” said Sullivan. “We believe that our business has taken a step-change forward in its sustainable earnings expectations. Going forward, given the significant structural changes we have made across a range of critical performance areas, including financial, operational, marketing and logistics we expect our operating margin rate, return on sales and gross margin rate will exceed historical averages.”
Fiscal Year 2022 Outlook:
Inclusive of the company’s current expectations for its underlying business along with anticipated macro challenges that include inflationary pressures, ongoing supply chain dislocations, and lack of comparable governmental stimulus efforts, among others, Caleres expects consolidated sales to be flat to up 3 percent to 2021 sales and earnings per diluted share to be in the range of $3.75 to $4.00. Note this earnings range reflects an approximately 75 percent increase – at the midpoint – above the company’s pre-pandemic high-water mark of $2.21. With the momentum coming out of the fourth quarter, the company expects 50 percent of its earnings to be in the first half of 2022.
Investor Conference Call
Caleres will host an investor conference call at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time today, Tuesday, March 15. The webcast and slides will be available at investor.caleres.com/news/events. A live conference call will be available at (877) 217-9089 for analysts in North America or (706) 679-1723 for international analysts by using the conference ID 1489541. A replay will be available at investor.caleres.com/news/events/archive for a limited period. Investors may also access the replay by dialing (855) 859-2056 in North America or (404) 537-3406 internationally and using the conference ID 9787564 through Monday, March 28.
Definitions
All references in this press release, outside of the condensed consolidated financial statements that follow, unless otherwise noted, related to net earnings (loss) attributable to Caleres, Inc. and diluted earnings (loss) per common share attributable to Caleres, Inc. shareholders, are presented as net earnings (loss) and earnings (loss) per diluted share, respectively.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In this press release, the company’s financial results are provided both in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and using certain non-GAAP financial measures. In particular, the company provides historic and estimated future gross profit, operating earnings (loss), net earnings (loss) and earnings (loss) per diluted share adjusted to exclude certain gains, charges, and recoveries, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, which are non-GAAP financial measures. These results are included as a complement to results provided in accordance with GAAP because management believes these non-GAAP financial measures help identify underlying trends in the company’s business and provide useful information to both management and investors by excluding certain items that may not be indicative of the company’s core operating results. These measures should not be considered a substitute for or superior to GAAP results.
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements and expectations regarding the company’s future performance and the performance of its brands. Such statements are subject to various risks and