US footwear and accessories retailer Designer Brands has reported net income attributable to the company of $29.06m for the fiscal year 2023 (FY23), compared to the previous year’s net income of $162.67m.
The decline is attributed to factors including restructuring, integration costs and CEO transition costs.
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The company’s diluted earnings per share (EPS) also fell to $0.46 in FY23 from $2.26 in the preceding year.
Designer Brands reported net sales of $3.07bn over the fiscal year 2023, representing a 7.3% decrease from $3.31bn in fiscal 2022. Total comparable sales declined by 9.0%.
Gross profit for Designer Brands declined to $974.88m from $1.07bn in the previous year, with gross margin also seeing a reduction to 31.7% from 32.6%.
In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, the retailer posted a net loss attributable to Designer Brands of $29.69m, compared to a net income of $45.11m in the same quarter of the previous year.
The loss per diluted share for Q4 FY23 was $0.52, against an EPS of $0.66 in Q4 FY22.
The retailer recorded net sales of $754.34m during the quarter, down by 0.8% from $760.54m in Q4 FY22.
The retailer’s gross profit for the quarter also decreased to $207.35m from $221.99m a year ago. Its gross margin dropped to 27.5%.
Designer Brands chief executive officer Doug Howe said: “We ended the year strong, with a solid finish to the fourth quarter above the top end of our revised EPS guidance range, led by strength in our brand portfolio segment as a result of acquiring Keds and Topo, and launching Le Tigre.
“Despite the results, 2023 was a difficult year as we were impacted by a softening footwear market, a highly promotional retail environment and the impact of unseasonably warm weather on our seasonal footwear business.”
For fiscal 2024, Designer Brands anticipates low-single-digit net sales growth and diluted EPS between $0.70 and $0.80.
