Toys"R"Us, Inc. Reports Financial Results for Second Quarter 2013

Toys R Us
Published: September 18th, 2013

September 18, 2013 // Franchising.com // WAYNE, NJ - Toys"R"Us, Inc. today reported financial results for the second quarter ended August 3, 2013.

Antonio Urcelay, Interim Chief Executive Officer, Toys"R"Us, Inc., stated, “We are pleased to see improvement in our comparable store net sales versus the first quarter of this year, despite the ongoing challenges of the global economic environment and the continued weakness in the electronics and entertainment category.”

“We also built upon our track record of successful refinancings with the recently completed refinancing of our Toys"R"Us Property Company I, LLC $950 million senior unsecured notes, which will decrease interest expense on a go-forward basis.”

Mr. Urcelay continued, “The team has been intensely focused on finalizing our plans for the upcoming holiday season to ensure we are well-positioned during the highly competitive months ahead. We believe that the initiatives we have recently announced in the U.S., including an enhanced Price Match Guarantee and a comprehensive suite of programs to encourage early buying, in combination with our expertise in the identification and ownership of the hottest toys, will strongly appeal to consumers as they develop their holiday shopping lists.”

Second Quarter Highlights

• Comparable store net sales were down 3.5% in the Domestic segment and 3.8% in the International segment. The overall decrease in comparable store net sales resulted primarily from decreases in the juvenile and entertainment (which includes electronics, video game hardware and software) categories. Compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2013, comparable store net sales improved 490 basis points in the Domestic segment and 200 basis points in the International segment.
• Net sales were $2.4 billion, a decrease of $175 million or 6.9% versus the prior year. The decline in net sales for the quarter was primarily attributable to a decrease in comparable store net sales, as well as a foreign currency translation impact of $66 million.
• Gross margin dollars were $920 million, compared to $1,018 million for the prior year. Foreign currency translation decreased gross margin dollars by $23 million. Gross margin, as a percentage of net sales, was 38.7%, a decrease of 1.2 percentage points versus the prior year. The decline was concentrated in the Domestic segment and was primarily attributable to margin rate declines principally within the juvenile and learning categories.
• Selling, general and administrative expenses (“SG&A”) were $890 million, compared to $887 million in the prior year. Foreign currency translation decreased SG&A by $23 million. Excluding the impact of foreign currency translation, the increase in SG&A was primarily due to an increase in litigation expense of $20 million related to the September 13, 2013 judgment in the Aleo v. SLB Toys USA, Inc. (“Aleo”) case.
• Adjusted EBITDA¹ was $81 million, compared to $148 million in the prior year.
• Operating loss was $46 million, compared to operating earnings of $43 million in the prior year, a decrease of $89 million. Excluding Corporate expenses which were impacted by the $20 million increase related to the judgment in the Aleo case, the Domestic segment had a decrease in operating earnings of $40 million and the International segment had a decrease of $25 million. The decrease in operating earnings was principally due to the decline in comparable store net sales within both the Domestic and International segments, as well as the lower gross margin rate in the Domestic segment.  
• Net loss was $113 million, compared to $36 million in the prior year primarily due to the decrease in operating earnings, partially offset by an increase in income tax benefit resulting from the increase in loss before income taxes.  

Liquidity and Capital Spending

The company ended the second quarter with $1.6 billion of liquidity, which included cash and cash equivalents of $464 million and unused availability under committed lines of credit of $1.1 billion.

Through the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2013, the company invested $110 million primarily for store-related projects, opening of new stores and improvements to information technology and logistics systems and capabilities, compared to $126 million in the prior year.

On August 21, 2013, the company successfully completed a $985 million senior unsecured term loan credit agreement at its Toys"R"Us Property Company I, LLC subsidiary. The credit agreement matures on August 21, 2019 and, at the option of Toys"R"Us Property Company I, LLC, will initially bear interest equal to LIBOR plus a margin of 5.00% per annum, with a 1.00% LIBOR floor. The net proceeds, together with other funds available to the subsidiary were used to redeem in full the Toys"R"Us Property Company I, LLC $950 million senior unsecured 10.75% notes due 2017, plus interest, premiums and expenses.

Further information regarding the company’s financial performance in the second quarter of fiscal 2013 is presented in its quarterly report on Form 10-Q, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 17, 2013.

1 A detailed description and reconciliation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, and management’s reasons for using these measures, are set forth at the end of this press release.

About Toys"R"Us, Inc.

Toys"R"Us, Inc. is the world’s leading dedicated toy and juvenile products retailer, offering a differentiated shopping experience through its family of brands. Merchandise is sold in 877 Toys"R"Us and Babies"R"Us stores in the United States and Puerto Rico, and in more than 690 international stores and over 170 licensed stores in 35 foreign countries and jurisdictions. In addition, it exclusively operates the legendary FAO Schwarz brand and sells extraordinary toys in the brand’s flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City. With its strong portfolio of e-commerce sites including Toysrus.com, Babiesrus.com, eToys.com and FAO.com, it provides shoppers with a broad online selection of distinctive toy and baby products. Headquartered in Wayne, NJ, Toys"R"Us, Inc. employs approximately 70,000 associates annually worldwide. The company is committed to serving its communities as a caring and reputable neighbor through programs dedicated to keeping kids safe and helping them in times of need. Additional information about Toys"R"Us, Inc. can be found on Toysrusinc.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements that are not historical facts in this press release, including statements about our beliefs or expectations, are forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, including, among others, the seasonality of our business, competition in the retail industry, changes in our product distribution mix and distribution channels, general economic factors in the United States and other countries in which we conduct our business, consumer spending patterns, our ability to implement our strategy, the availability of adequate financing, access to trade credit, changes in consumer preferences, changes in employment legislation, our dependence on key vendors for our merchandise, political and other developments associated with our international operations, costs of goods that we sell, labor costs, transportation costs, domestic and international events affecting the delivery of toys and other products to our stores, product safety issues including product recalls, the existence of adverse litigation, changes in laws that impact our business, our substantial level of indebtedness and related debt-service obligations, restrictions imposed by covenants in our debt agreements and other risks, uncertainties and factors set forth in our reports and documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (which reports and documents should be read in conjunction with this press release). In addition, we typically earn a disproportionate part of our annual operating earnings in the fourth quarter as a result of seasonal buying patterns and these buying patterns are difficult to forecast with certainty. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date when made, and we undertake no obligation to update these statements in light of subsequent events or developments unless required by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and regulations. Actual results and outcomes may differ materially from anticipated results or outcomes discussed in forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Toys"R"Us

Contacts:

Lenders and Note Investors

Adil Mistry
Senior Vice President, Treasure
Investor Relations
973-617-5841
Adil.Mistry@toysrus.com

Media

Kathleen Waugh
Vice President
Corporate Communications
973-617-5888
646-366-8823
waughk@toysrus.com

See full Financial here: http://www.toysrusinc.com/press-room/releases/financial/2013/toysrus-inc.-reports-financial-results-for-second-quarter-2013/