Provides First Quarter Fiscal 2024
Preliminary Results of Net Sales of About $160 million and Adjusted
EBITDA* of Approximately $33 million to $34 million
J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) today announced that it has completed a
series of debt principal payments and that its Board of Directors
has approved a new quarterly dividend program.
The total debt repaid was $60.4 million which reduced the
original $175 million term loan issued in April 2023 to $108
million. The $60.4 million was comprised of a required principal
payment of $2.2 million on April 26, 2024, and a voluntary
prepayment of $58.2 million on May 10, 2024. The voluntary
prepayment was in lieu of and incremental to the previously
expected Excess Cash Flow payment of $26.6 million which was
rejected by the lenders. Following the voluntary prepayment on May
10, 2024, the company’s cash balance was $28.2 million.
In addition, the Board of Directors declared an initial
quarterly cash dividend of $0.07 per share of the Company’s common
stock. The dividend is payable on June 12, 2024, to all
stockholders of record as of May 29, 2024. The Company intends to
pay dividends quarterly in the future, subject to market conditions
and approval by the Board of Directors.
Claire Spofford, President and Chief Executive Officer of
J.Jill, Inc. stated, "We are pleased to be in a position to
leverage the strong cash generation of the business to rapidly
de-lever our balance sheet, reduce interest costs, and return
capital directly to shareholders. Through this balanced and
disciplined approach to capital allocation, we are maintaining
strong financial flexibility to continue to invest in our growth
while demonstrating our commitment to driving total shareholder
returns.”
Q1 FY24 Preliminary Results
For the first quarter of fiscal 2024, the Company expects net
sales of about $160 million, an increase of 7% compared to the
first quarter of fiscal 2023, and Adjusted EBITDA* of approximately
$33 million to $34 million. These preliminary results include the
expected benefit from the calendar shift resulting from the 53rd
week in fiscal 2023 and are better than prior guidance for the
first quarter of fiscal 2024. The prior guidance expected net sales
to increase 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 $29.0 million to $33.0 million. These preliminary results are
unaudited, subject to completion of the Company’s financial
reporting processes and do not represent a comprehensive statement
of our financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2024.
The Company will release its full financial results for the
first quarter fiscal year 2024 before market open on Friday, June
7, 2024. Management will host a conference call that day at 8:00
a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the financial results and its outlook
in more detail.
Investors and analysts interested in listening to the call are
invited to dial (800) 715-9871 or (646) 307-1963 if calling
internationally. Please dial in approximately 10 minutes prior to
the start of the call and reference Conference ID 7311773 when
prompted. A live audio webcast of the conference call will be
available online at
http://investors.jjill.com/Investors-Relations/News-Events/events.
A taped replay of the conference call will be available
approximately two hours following the call and can be accessed both
online and by dialing (800) 770-2030 or (609) 800-9909. The pin
number to access the telephone replay is 7311773. The telephone
replay will be available until Friday, June 14, 2024.
About J.Jill, Inc.
J.Jill is a national lifestyle brand that provides apparel,
footwear and accessories designed to help its customers move
through a full life with ease. The brand represents an easy,
thoughtful and inspired style that celebrates the totality of all
women and designs its products with its core brand ethos in mind:
keep it simple and make it matter. J.Jill offers a high touch
customer experience through over 200 stores nationwide and a robust
ecommerce platform. J.Jill is headquartered outside Boston. For
more information, please visit www.jjill.com or
http://investors.jjill.com. The information included on our
websites is not incorporated by reference herein.
Information Regarding Preliminary Results
The preliminary estimated financial information contained in
this press release reflects management’s estimates based solely
upon information available to it as of the date of this press
release and is not a comprehensive statement of our financial
results for the first quarter of fiscal 2024. The preliminary
estimated financial results described above constitute
forward-looking statements. The preliminary estimated financial
information presented above is subject to change, and our actual
financial results may differ from such preliminary estimates and
such differences could be material. Accordingly, you should not
place undue reliance upon these preliminary estimates.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
*The Company has not provided a reconciliation of Adjusted
EBITDA outlook for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 to GAAP net
income, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure due to
the inherent difficulty, without unreasonable efforts, to predict
with reasonable certainty the amount or timing of non-GAAP
adjustments that are used to calculate Adjusted EBITDA, including
but not limited to: (a) tax-related items, (b) lease expenses for
retail stores given ongoing negotiations, and (c) other
non-recurring items not indicative of ongoing operating
performance. These adjustments are uncertain, depend on various
factors that are beyond our control and could have a material
impact on net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2024.
To supplement our unaudited consolidated financial statements
presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles (“GAAP”), we use the following non-GAAP measures of
financial performance:
- Adjusted EBITDA, which represents net income (loss) plus
interest expense, provision (benefit) for income taxes,
depreciation and amortization, equity-based compensation expense,
impairments of goodwill, intangible assets and other long-lived
assets, fair value adjustments of warrants and derivatives and
other non-recurring expenses and one-time items. We present
Adjusted EBITDA on a consolidated basis because management uses it
as a supplemental measure in assessing our operating performance,
and we believe that it is helpful to investors, securities analysts
and other interested parties as a measure of our comparative
operating performance from period to period. We also use Adjusted
EBITDA as one of the primary methods for planning and forecasting
overall expected performance of our business and for evaluating on
a quarterly and annual basis actual results against such
expectations. Further, we recognize Adjusted EBITDA as a commonly
used measure in determining business value and as such, use it
internally to report results.
While we believe that Adjusted EBITDA is useful in evaluating
our business, it is a non-GAAP financial measure that has
limitations as an analytical tool. Adjusted EBITDA should not be
considered an alternative to, or substitute for, net income (loss)
or EPS, which are calculated in accordance with GAAP. In addition,
other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate
Adjusted EBITDA differently or not at all, which reduces the
usefulness of such non-GAAP financial measures as a tool for
comparison.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains, and oral statements made from time
to time by our representatives may contain, “forward-looking
statements.” All statements other than statements of historical
facts contained in this press release, including statements
regarding our strategy, future operations, future financial
position, future revenue, projected costs, prospects, plans,
objectives of management, expected market growth and any
activities, events or developments that we intend, expect or
believe may occur in the future are forward-looking statements.
Such statements are often identified by words such as “could,”
“may,” “might,” “will,” “likely,” “anticipates,” “intends,”
“plans,” “seeks,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “continues,”
“projects,” “goal,” “target” (although not all forward-looking
statements contain these identifying words) and similar references
to future periods, or by the inclusion of forecasts or projections.
Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations
and assumptions regarding capital market conditions, our business,
the economy and other future conditions and are not guarantees of
future performance. Because forward-looking statements relate to
the future, by their nature, they are inherently subject to a
number of risks, uncertainties, potentially inaccurate assumptions
and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. As a
result, our actual results may differ materially from those
contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Important factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in
any forward-looking statements include regional, national or global
political, economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory
conditions, including risks regarding: (1) our sensitivity to
changes in economic conditions and discretionary consumer spending;
(2) the material adverse impact of pandemics or other health crises
on our operations, business and financial results; (3) our ability
to anticipate and respond to changing customer preferences, shifts
in fashion and industry trends in a timely manner; (4) our ability
to maintain our brand image, engage new and existing customers and
gain market share; (5) the impact of operating in a highly
competitive industry with increased competition; (6) our ability to
successfully optimize our omnichannel operations, including our
ability to enhance our marketing efforts and successfully realize
the benefits from our investments in new technology, for example
our recently implemented point-of-sale system and the forthcoming
upgrade to our order management system; (7) our ability to use
effective marketing strategies and increase existing and new
customer traffic; (8) any interruptions in our foreign sourcing
operations and the relationships with our suppliers and agents; (9)
any increases in the demand for, or the price of, raw materials
used to manufacture our merchandise and other fluctuations in
sourcing and distribution costs; (10) any material damage or
interruptions to our information systems; (11) our ability to
protect our trademarks and other intellectual property rights; (12)
our indebtedness restricting our operational and financial
flexibility; (13) our ability to manage our inventory levels, size
assortments and merchandise mix; (14) our status as a controlled
company; and (15) other factors that may be described in our
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”),
including the factors set forth under “Risk Factors” in our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 3, 2024. You
are encouraged to read our filings with the SEC, available at
www.sec.gov, for a discussion of these and other risks and
uncertainties. We caution investors, potential investors and others
not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking
statements in this press release and in the oral statements made by
our representatives. Any such forward-looking statement speaks only
as of the date on which it is made. J.Jill undertakes no obligation
to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether
as a result of new information, future developments or
otherwise.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240514274545/en/
Investor Relations: Caitlin Churchill ICR, Inc.
investors@jjill.com 203-682-8200
Business and Financial Media: Ariel Kouvaras Sloane &
Company akouvaras@sloanepr.com 973-897-6241
Brand Media: Meredith Schwenk J.Jill, Inc.
media@jjill.com 617-376-4399
J Jill (NYSE:JILL)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2024 to Jun 2024
J Jill (NYSE:JILL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2023 to Jun 2024