Children's Place (NASDAQ: PLCE) reported Q1 EPS of $1.87, $0.34 worse than the analyst estimate of $2.21. Revenue for the quarter came in at $436.3 million versus the consensus estimate of $444.14 million.

Jane Elfers, President and Chief Executive Officer announced, “Our ability to sell seasonal product in the first quarter was severely hampered by the combination of a record number of winter storms and the unseasonably cold temperatures that persisted across our major markets. We generated comparable retail sales of negative (1.8%) in the first quarter vs. a positive 6.1% comp in the first quarter of 2017. However, when the weather improved across the country in the 13th week of the quarter, our sales turned aggressively positive. The strong sales momentum has continued and quarter to date, we are currently running a positive 24% comp. We expect that this pent up demand for seasonal product will continue and enable us to deliver strong second quarter results.”

Ms. Elfers continued, “We remain focused on our accelerated digital transformation, with the goal of one to one personalization. This is our single biggest top and bottom line opportunity and our digital investments, with the goal of continuing to gain market share, are focused on improving customer retention, driving customer acquisition and increasing customer engagement with our brand. We are uniquely well-positioned internally and from a competitive standpoint to deliver the next phase of our strategic growth plan. Based upon our consistently compelling product offering, our proven ability to grow market share, our strong operating fundamentals, our best-in-class management team, and most importantly, our long and consistent track record of delivering results, we expect to achieve a 12% operating margin and $12.00 in EPS by the end of 2020.”

GUIDANCE:

Children's Place sees FY2018 EPS of $7.95-$8.20, versus the consensus of $8.16.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Children's Place (PLCE) click here.