Citi Trends, Inc. , a leading specialty value retailer of apparel, accessories and home trends for way less spend primarily for African American and Latinx families in the United States, today reported results for the second quarter ended July 30, 2022.

The Company is reporting select operating results for the second quarter and first half of 2022 relative to the same periods of 2019 due to the unique operating environment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and related government stimulus in 2020 and 2021.

Financial Highlights – Second Quarter 2022

Total sales of $185.0 million decreased 22.0% vs. Q2 2021 and increased 1.2% vs. Q2 2019; comparable sales decreased 24.9% compared to Q2 2021 lapping a 25.6% increase in Q2 2021 vs Q2 2019; 3 year stack of 0.7%
Comparable store transactions vs. prior year sequentially improved 510 bps from Q1 to Q2; conversion remained strong and year-to-date average basket size contracted only 5.4% compared to the same period in the prior year, a period with unprecedented government stimulus assistance
Gross margin of 38.1% vs. 40.8% in Q2 2021 and 37.3% in Q2 2019
SG&A expense dollars declined 9.2% vs. Q2 2021; SG&A expenses deleveraged 520 bps vs. Q2 2021 to 37.0% of total sales on lower sales base and deleveraged 250 bps vs. Q2 2019
Operating loss of $3.3 million compared to operating income of $16.4 million in Q2 2021 and $0.2 million in Q2 2019; EBITDA of $1.9 million compared to $21.4 million in Q2 2021 and $4.8 million in Q2 2019
Diluted loss per share of $0.31 vs. diluted earnings per share of $1.36 in Q2 2021 and $0.03 in Q2 2019
Quarter-end total dollar inventory increased 25.5% vs Q2 2021 and 7.6% vs Q2 2019. Excluding packaway goods, inventory increased 8.0% compared to Q2 2021 and decreased 4.3% vs. Q2 2019; average in-store inventory decreased 12.7% vs Q2 2019
Cash of $27.9 million at the end of the quarter, with no debt and no borrowings under a $75 million credit facility
Financial Highlights – 26 week first half ended July 30, 2022

Total sales of $393.2 million decreased 24.8% vs. 2021, increased 1.4% vs. 2019; comparable sales decreased 27.2% compared to 2021 on top of a 30.4% increase in 2021 vs 2019; 3 year stack of 3.2%
Gross margin of 38.6% vs. 41.8% in 2021 and 37.4% in 2019
Operating income of $36.3 million, or $1.4 million as adjusted* for the gain on the sale of a distribution center, vs. $55.4 million in 2021 and $8.9 million in 2019, or $9.9 million as adjusted*
Net income of $27.7 million, or $1.0 million as adjusted*, vs. $43.4 million in 2021 and $8.2 million in 2019, or $9.1 million as adjusted*
Adjusted EBITDA* of $12.1 million, vs. $65.1 million in 2021 and vs. $19.6 million in 2019, as adjusted*
Diluted EPS of $3.34; adjusted diluted EPS* of $0.12, vs. $4.63 in 2021 and $0.68 in 2019, or $0.76 as adjusted*
Chief Executive Officer Comments

David Makuen, Chief Executive Officer, said, “The first half of 2022 was a challenging period as our customers, particularly those in the lowest income bracket, were under extraordinary pressure from widespread inflation, reducing their visits to stores for discretionary apparel and accessory purchases. It’s difficult to predict when this slower demand cycle will abate, therefore, we have revised our outlook for fiscal 2022 and have made it our number one priority to lower our SG&A expenses to align with a lower sales expectation. In fact, we are taking swift action on approximately $10 million in expense savings for the back half of 2022, or about 7% of total second half SG&A expenses, including a 10% staff reduction. We wish the very best to the associates impacted by this difficult decision and truly appreciate their contributions.”

Mr. Makuen continued, “During the quarter, we continued optimizing our Buy, Move, Sell and Support teams as we remain hyper-focused on driving healthy sales, managing inventories and maximizing margin to improve our operating profit. We are also prudently reducing capital expenditures by approximately $10 million to ensure we have additional liquidity to chase opportunities as they arise. We continue to believe there is significant white space opportunity to grow the Citi Trends brand and have confidence that our neighborhood customers, whom we know to be resilient and loyal, will allow us to return to a position of growth in time.”