Highlights From Bed Bath & Beyond's (BBBY) Q4 Conference Call; Weathering The Storm, Maintains A Strong Balance Sheet

April 8, 2009 4:23 PM EDT

Bed Bath & Beyond (Nasdaq: BBBY) reported its Q4 earnings after the close yesterday. The retailer reported Q4 earnings 11 cents above the analyst estimate of $0.44. Revenue for the quarter was in-line with the consensus view of $1.92 billion.

Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond traded up 24% to $31.70 in today's trading.

Below are some highlights from Bed Bath Beyond's Q4 conference call:

For fiscal '08, opened a total of 67 new stores, consisting of 49 Bed Bath & Beyond stores throughout the US and Canada, 11 Christmas Tree Shops stores, 6 buybuy BABY stores, and 1 Harmon Face Values store.

• Currently operates 931 Bed Bath & Beyond stores, 52 Christmas Tree Shops stores, 16 buybuy BABY stores. Anticipates opening approximately 50 to 54 new stores in 2009.
  
• Comp store sales for the fiscal year were down 2.4%. Sales were negatively affected by the economic slowdown including issues specific to the housing industry and the liquidation sales of a number of retailers including a significant competitor.
  
• Share buyback program will be influenced by several factors including business and market conditions and developments in the auction rate securities market.
  
• Strong balance sheet: $891 million in cash, which includes $219 million of investments related to auction rate securities and BBBY continues to be debt free.
  
• Comfortable with Q1 EPS view of $0.23 to $0.24 compared to analyst view of $0.32.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. and subsidiaries is a chain of retail stores, operating under the names Bed Bath & Beyond (BBB), Christmas Tree Shops (CTS), Harmon and Harmon Face Values (Harmon) and buybuy BABY.

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