Cliff Sifford, Shoe Carnival’s Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We are very pleased with our broad-based strength across all product categories, geographies and sales channels in the third quarter. Our record earnings were fueled by solid comparable store sales growth throughout the quarter, including our seventeenth consecutive positive comparable store sales for the month of August. Our customer-centric organization and fun, engaging shopping environment continues to resonate with consumers and gives us confidence in our raised outlook for fiscal 2019. Going forward, we believe our strong foundation, combined with the recent addition of new customer-data driven resources, positions us well for sustainable, profitable growth for many years to come.”

Third Quarter Results

Shoe Carnival reported net sales of 274.6 million US dollars for the third quarter of fiscal 2019, a 2.0% increase compared to net sales of 269.2 million US dollars for the third quarter of fiscal 2018. Comparable store sales increased by 3.5% for the third quarter of fiscal 2019.

Gross profit margin for the third quarter of fiscal 2019 increased by 0.7% to 30.9% compared to 30.2% in the third quarter of fiscal 2018 (14% growth).

Net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2019 totalled 13.7 million US dollars, or 0.94 US dollars per diluted share. For the third quarter of fiscal 2018, the company reported net income of 12.0 million US dollars or 0.76 US dollars per diluted share.

Nine Months Results

Compared to similar period in the previous year, net sales for the first nine months of fiscal 2019 increased 1.7 million US dollars to 796.7 million US dollars. Comparable store sales increased by 1.6% for the first nine months of fiscal 2019.

Net income for the first nine months of fiscal 2019 totalled 39.4 million US dollars, or 2.66 US dollars per diluted share, compared to net income of 36.8 million US dollars, or 2.36 US dollars per diluted share, in the first nine months of fiscal 2018 (7% growth in the first nine months of the year). The gross profit margin for the first nine months of fiscal 2019 was 30.4% compared to 30.5% in the same period last year.