Harrisburg, Pennsylvania— Following the release of its third-quarter earnings this morning, Ollie’s Bargain Outlet reduced its full-year projection.
The close-out chain’s net sales increased 7.8% to $517.4 million on the top line. New stores were solely responsible for the performance. Sales at the same stores decreased by 0.5% compared to a 7.0% growth in the same quarter last year.
By the end of the quarter, Ollie’s had 546 locations throughout 31 states, an 8.1% growth over the previous year. The corporation shuttered three sites and established 24 new ones during the quarter that concluded on November 2. Two of the closures were permanent, while one was temporary due to Hurricane Helene. Next year, it intends to open fifty more stores.
Operating margin rose 50 basis points to 8.6%, while operating income rose 14.0% to $44.5 million. With net income rising 12.8% to $35.9 million, or $0.58 per diluted share, Ollie’s bottom line surprised Wall Street.
Through strict cost control, increased sales, and a larger gross margin, we produced solid earnings. Additionally, we capitalized on many real estate opportunities that improved our competitive standing going forward and fortified our pipeline of new stores,” CEO John Swygert stated.
This morning, Ollie’s improved their forecast for the entire year. It now anticipates:
- Fiscal net sales between $2.270 billion and $2.280 billion, slightly lower than the previous range of $2.276 billion to $2.291 billion.
- Comparable sales growth between 2.7% and 3.0%, with the upper end of the forecast lowered from 3.2%.
Swygert, who will retire after more than 20 years at Ollie, will be replaced in early 2025 by Eric van der Valk, executive vice president and chief operational officer. In June, the corporation made the change public.