Topic: How To Invest

This Canadian stock’s earnings fell sharply in the latest quarter

Reitmans (Canada) Ltd., symbol RET.A on Toronto, owns 965 women’s clothing stores across Canada. These include 363 Reitmans, 160 Penningtons, 157 Smart Set, 122 Addition Elle, 73 Thyme Maternity, 67 RW & Co. and 23 Cassis stores. Reitmans continues to actively monitor its regional markets, and open and close stores as necessary.

Reitmans is one of the Canadian stocks we analyze in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for aggressive investing.

In the three months ended April 30, 2011, the Canadian stock’s earnings fell 98.3%, to $624,000 from $37.3 million a year earlier. Earnings per share fell 95.7%, to $0.01 from $0.23. Sales were down 7.0%, to $219.3 million from $235.7 million. Same-store sales declined 8.7%.

There were a number of reasons for the declines, including poor spring weather and the lateness of the Easter holiday, when customers normally buy more spring and summer clothing. As well, the company spent more on promotions to deal with rising competition.

The company holds cash of $247.9 million, or $3.08 a share. The Canadian stock’s long-term debt is $9.7 million. Reitmans is a dividend paying stock. Its shares yield a high 5.2%.

We updated our buy/sell/hold advice on Reitmans in our June 10, 2011 Stock Pickers Digest hotline, which you can immediately view when you take a 1-month free trial to Stock Pickers Digest. Click here to get started right away.

(Note: If you are a current Stock Pickers Digest subscriber, please click here to view Pat’s recommendation. Be sure to log in first.)

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