Annual sales at J.Jill fell 1.7% to $604.7m for the year ended 28 January (FY23) while operating income for the period rose to $86.1m from $78.7m. FY net income slid to $36.2m from $42.2m a year earlier on higher interest expenses and charges.
For the fourth quarter total net sales rose 1.2% to $149.4m while operating income increased to $10.5m from $7.8m year-on-year. Net income was $4.8m up from $1m a year earlier.
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Claire Spofford, president and CEO of J.Jill Inc. was happy with both the company’s Q4 and FY23 results and stated: “We are pleased with our strong end to 2023 which delivered fourth quarter and full year results above our expectations. This performance is once again a testament to the execution of our disciplined operating model which has continued to support the healthy margin profile and strong cash generation of the business.
“Throughout 2023, we made great progress in strengthening our financial and operational foundation while planting the seeds for future growth. We successfully refinanced our debt, enhanced our omni-channel capabilities, delivered our first net new store opening year in over three years, and continued to identify and test new concepts within our assortment to drive growth.”
Spofford continued: “As we look ahead, we continue to take a cautious outlook with respect to the macro environment and are planning our business accordingly. We will continue to execute our disciplined operating model while investing in both capital and operating expenses that we believe will support the initiatives in place to drive profitable sales growth.”
J.Jill FY24 outlook
For the 52-week fiscal 2024, the company expects net sales to be flat to up in the low-single digits and adjusted EBITDA to be down in the mid-single digits compared to the 53-week fiscal 2023.
This guidance reflects the negative impact from the loss of the 53rd week in fiscal 2023 of $7.9m in net sales and $2.2m in adjusted EBITDA. The company expects total capital expenditures of approximately $26m and net store count growth of up to five stores to end fiscal 2024.
For the first quarter of fiscal 2024, the company expects net sales to be up in the low to mid-single-digits compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2023, and for adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $29.0m to $33.0m.
