NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Kirkland's, Inc. (Nasdaq: KIRK), a specialty retailer of home décor and furnishings, announced financial results for the 13-week and 26-week periods ended July 29, 2023.
Second Quarter 2023 Summary
• Net sales were $89.5 million, with comparable sales decreasing 9.7%.
• Gross profit margin improved 140 basis points year-over-year to 19.5%.
• Operating loss improved to $18.1 million.
• Adjusted EBITDA loss improved to $13.5 million.
• Ended the period with a cash balance of $4.9 million and $46.0 million in outstanding debt.
• Closed three stores to end the quarter with 340 stores.
"The second quarter sales results were challenged by lower traffic and the aggressive liquidation efforts in Q2 of last year that presented a tough sales comparison, period-over-period," said Ann Joyce, interim CEO of Kirkland's Home. "Although we remained promotional during the quarter, we believe the shifting of our brand voice towards value and a normalizing supply chain allowed us to improve our merchandise margin by 320 basis points year-over-year. We also believe we exercised improved control of our inventory as we rebalanced our merchandise assortment for the back half of the year, resulting in 30% lower inventory levels and lower borrowings than the prior year.
"We knew this quarter would be a transition period as we focused on having the necessary merchandising and marketing plans in place heading into the harvest and holiday selling seasons. While there are persistent macro-headwinds that continue to impact the consumer environment and our customers, we believe we are well-positioned with what we can control to capitalize on our highly important selling seasons over the next two quarters. We are encouraged by the early response to our seasonal assortments and our renewed emphasis on home décor, both of which will become more prominent as we get deeper into the holiday period.
"Our management team has also been performing an overall health check on key areas of the business to ensure we're running as efficiently and effectively as possible. While macro-economic challenges have certainly impacted our results, there are a number of other challenges that we are working to resolve. First, we are making changes quickly to our merchandise assortment and our marketing strategy to ensure that we are reconnecting with our core customers and attracting more to the fold. We are also optimizing our inventory flow through supply chain improvements, improving the omni-channel experience through technology, and ensuring stores are fully supported to deliver a superior customer experience. We believe these changes will put us on a path to positive adjusted EBITDA in the back-half of fiscal 2023 and, as we execute, position us for a return to historical adjusted EBITDA margins. While our journey has only just begun, the more I become ingrained into our day-to-day operations, the more I believe in our ability to return to profitable growth and deliver value to our shareholders over the long run."
Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results
Net sales in the second quarter of 2023 were $89.5 million, compared to $102.1 million in the prior year quarter. Comparable same-store sales decreased 9.7%, including a 16.6% decline in e-commerce sales. The decrease was primarily driven by a decline in traffic, along with a decrease in average ticket.
Gross profit in the second quarter of 2023 was $17.4 million, or 19.5% of net sales, compared to $18.5 million, or 18.1% of net sales in the prior year quarter. The improvement as a percentage of net sales was primarily a result of improved merchandise margin, partially offset by the deleverage of fixed cost components on the lower sales base.
Operating loss in the second quarter of 2023 improved to $18.1 million compared to an operating loss of $21.8 million in the prior year quarter. The improvement to the prior year period was primarily a result of lower compensation costs and lower advertising expenses.
EBITDA in the second quarter of 2023 improved to a loss of $15.0 million compared to a loss of $17.5 million in the prior year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter of 2023 improved to a loss of $13.5 million compared to a loss of $16.4 million in the prior year quarter.
Net loss in the second quarter of 2023 improved to $19.4 million, or a loss of $1.51 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $25.7 million, or a loss of $2.02 per diluted share in the prior year quarter.
As of July 29, 2023, the Company had a cash balance of $4.9 million, with $46.0 million of outstanding debt under its $90 million senior secured revolving credit facility.