“Caleres closed a record-setting 2022 with another quarter of strong sales and earnings performance that exceeded initial expectations”, commented Jay Schmidt, president and chief executive officer of Caleres. “Our fourth quarter results were led by our Brand Portfolio, which experienced strong growth in sales, gross margin and earnings and a solid performance from Famous Footwear, which continues to provide the brands, trends and value aligned with consumer preferences”, he added.

Fourth Quarter Results

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, the company's net sales increased by 2.5%, totalling 696.4 million US dollars, on a comparable basis to the same period of the prior year. In this period, quarterly Famous Footwear segment sales rose by 0.1%, with comparable sales up by 0.7%, and Brand Portfolio segment sales grew by 6.4%, year-over-year.

Caleres also reported that, in the three months to the 28^th of January 2023, gross profit amounted to 281.2 million US dollars, while gross margin was 40.4%.

In the last quarter of the previous year, the company's net earnings totalled 40.8 million US dollars, or earnings per diluted share of 1.13 US dollars, as compared to the net earnings of 33.9 million US dollars, or earnings per diluted share of 0.88 US dollars, registered in the similar period of fiscal 2021.

Accordingly, Caleres posted adjusted net earnings of 23.4 million US dollars, or adjusted earnings per diluted share of 0.65 US dollars, on a comparable basis to adjusted net earnings of 34.9 million US dollars, or adjusted earnings per diluted share of 0.91 US dollars in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year. 

Full Year 2022

In the twelve months to the 28^th of January 2023, the company's net sales amounted to 2.97 billion US dollars, up by 6.9% as compared to the prior fiscal year. In particular, Famous Footwear segment sales in this period declined by 2.5%, with comparable sales down by 1.8%, while Brand Portfolio segment sales rose by 22.4%, on a comparable basis to fiscal 2021. Caleres noted that direct-to-consumer sales represented about 72% of total net sales.

Over fiscal 2022, the footwear group's net sales totalled 181.7 million US dollars, or earnings per diluted share of 4.92 US dollars, as compared to the net earnings of 137.0 million US dollars, or earnings per diluted share of 3.56 US dollars, recorded in the previous fiscal year.

Accordingly, Caleres's adjusted net earnings of 167.1 million US dollars, or adjusted earnings per diluted share of 4.52 US dollars, on a comparable basis to the adjusted net earnings of 165.2 million US dollars, or adjusted earnings per diluted share of 4.29 US dollars, registered in 2021.

Fiscal 2023 Outlook

For the current fiscal year, Caleres is expecting consolidated net sales to be flat up to 2%, and earnings per diluted share in the range of 4.10 US dollars to 4.30 US dollars. “This outlook balances strong momentum in our business and structural improvements in our earnings ability against anticipated headwinds that include inflationary pressures, higher interest rates, and continuing uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment”, concluded the company.