The Buckle (BKE) Q1 Conference Call Highlights

May 21, 2009 4:58 PM EDT

Investors are applauding strong earnings out of The Buckle (NYSE: BKE) today, sending shares of the stock rising by about 5.4% to $34.60. Notably, Buckle is one of the few apparel stocks trading higher today.

The company topped the Street's Q1 estimates on both EPS and sales, which came in at $0.58 and $199.7 million, respectively.

Below are some highlights from the company's Q1 conference call:

• net sales rose 24.6%, same store sales rose 17.7% and EPS for the quarter rose 45%. Online sales, which are not included in the comps reading, rose 75.7% to $11.7 million.
  
• gross margin for the quarter rose 250 basis points to 43.4%. Operating margin rose 380 basis points to 20.9%.
  
• selling expenses fell 90 basis points to 18.8% of net sales, driven primarily by reductions as a percentage of net sales in store payroll expense and payroll taxes as well as by the leveraging of certain other selling expenses which were partially offset by an increase in expense related to the incentive bonus accrual, an increase in Internet related fulfillment and marketing expenses and investments made during the quarter related to certain store fixtures and store supplies.
  
• G&A expenses were down 50 basis points to 3.7% of net sales.
  
• units per transaction rose about 2%, while the average transaction value jumped about 8%.
  
• Buckle ended the quarter with 392 retail stores in 40 states compared to a 374 stores in 39 states at the end of Q108.
  
• sales of men's merchandise rose 11.5%, driven by strong performance in denim, woven and knit shirts and active apparel. Average denim price points rose from $76.15 in Q108 to $83.90 this quarter. Overall, men's sales made up 40.5% of sales, down from about 45% in the same quarter last year. Aerage Men's price points increased 9% from $44.15 in Q108 to $48.05 in Q109.
  
• sales of women's merchandise rose 35%, with highlights in denim, knit tops, active apparel, accessories and footwear. Average denim price points increased from $78.30 last year to $85.10 this quarter. Women's sales made up about 59.5% of total sales, compared to about 55% in Q108. Average Women's price points increased 5.5% from $39.05 in Q108 to $41.10 in Q109.
  
• For the quarter combined accessories sales were up approximately 28% and combined footwear sales were up approximately 19%. These two categories accounted for approximately 7% and 5%, respectively, in Q108. Average accessory price points were up approximately 2.5% and average footwear price points were up approximately 7.5%.
  
• during the quarter, denim account for about 41.5% of net sales, compared to 42% in the same quarter last year. Tops accounted for 36.5% of sales, up slightly from the 36% reported in Q108.

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