=Signet Jewelers (SIG) reported earnings on Thur 25 May 2017 (b/o)

Signet Jewelers misses by $0.62, misses on revs; reaffirms FY18 EPS guidance:

• Reports Q1 (Apr) earnings of $1.03 per share, $0.62 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.65; revenues fell 11.1% year/year to $1.4 bln vs the $1.46 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
• E-commerce sales in the first quarter were $81.0 million, up $0.9 million or 1.1% compared to $80.1 million in the first quarter Fiscal 2017. By operating segment: 
  • Sterling Jewelers' SSS decreased 12.8% driven by declines across merchandise categories. Average transaction value increased 3.7%, but the number of transactions declined 16.6%. Higher-priced bridal jewelry as well as select diamond fashion jewelry and brands outperformed lower-priced merchandise. Off-mall sales led the division.
  • Zale Jewelry's SSS decreased 12.7%. Average transaction value increased 2.9%, while the number of transactions decreased 16.9%. Like the Sterling division, broad declines across merchandise categories drove the SSS decline, and higher-priced bridal jewelry and diamond fashion jewelry outperformed lower-priced merchandise.
  • Piercing Pagoda's SSS decreased 1.3%. Average transaction value increased 6.9%, while the number of transactions decreased 8.2%. Higher sales of 14 kt. gold chains, children's and religious jewelry nearly offset lower sales principally in diamond jewelry.
  • UK Jewelry's SSS decreased 3.5%. Average transaction value increased 12.4% and the number of transactions decreased 14.4%. The SSS decline was driven principally by lower sales of jewelry offset by higher sales of watches. Strong sales of prestige watches drove average transaction value.
• Co reaffirms guidance for FY18, sees EPS of 7.00-7.40 vs. $6.90 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  • SSS down low-to-mid single-digit %
  • Capital expenditures $260 million to $275 million
  • Net selling square footage growth -1% to 0%
• "We continue to take decisive action to adapt our business to the current challenging retail environment and to position our company for long-term growth. Importantly, during the quarter, we made significant improvements to our online platforms and continued to accelerate our digital marketing efforts which resulted in a measurable sequential improvement in our e-commerce performance. We also made important changes to our organizational structure and strengthened our team to drive our 2020 Strategic Vision and deliver operational efficiencies. Based on the progress we achieved to date on our Customer-First OmniChannel strategy and with a number of initiatives underway, we expect Fiscal 2018 results to be within our previously-announced guidance range.