US: Brown Shoe Company Q3 earnings rise

25 November 2009 | Source: just-style.com

Brown Shoe Company has reported a rise in third quarter earnings despite a small fall in sales. Both sets of figures were better than expected.

Net sales reached US$625.6m, a decrease of 1% compared to the year-ago quarter. Same-store sales for Famous Footwear increased 4.7% during the quarter and speciality retail same-store sales increased 4.1%.

Net earnings reached $16.3m. This compares to net earnings in the third quarter of 2008 of $10.4m.

Ron Fromm, Brown Shoe's chairman and CEO said: "We are pleased that we delivered better-than-expected sales and earnings during the third quarter. Our strategies to offer trend-right product, an enhanced store experience, and the increased reach of our marketing communications helped deliver a strong Back-to-School selling season at Famous Footwear."

He went on: "Although the timing of economic recovery remains uncertain, we are continuing these strategies into the fourth quarter and holiday season, as we expect consumers will continue to shop later in the season. In addition, we believe the brands across our portfolio are well-positioned to gain market share, given their strong value propositions to consumers at diverse price points and channels of distribution."

The company said that is now expects consolidated net sales in the fourth quarter of 2009 to grow in the low- to mid-single digit range versus the fourth quarter of 2008. It added that it expects to generate positive earnings in the fourth quarter, resulting in both positive operating earnings and positive net earnings for the full year of 2009.

Click here for the company's full third quarter results statement.