Topic: How To Invest

Stock Pickers Digest Hotline – Friday, April 6, 2018

Article Excerpt

REITMANS (CANADA) LTD., $4.07, symbol RET.A on Toronto, owns 642 women’s clothing stores across Canada. Those outlets are divided among several brands: Reitmans (270 stores), Penningtons (122), Addition Elle (90), RW & Co. (80), Thyme Maternity (63) and Hyba (17). In the three months ended February 3, 2018, sales rose 6.0%, to $263.4 million from $248.5 million a year earlier. Revenue increased despite the net closure of 35 stores over the last year. Same-store sales gained 3.2%. Overall, sales through physical locations fell 1.1%, while e-commerce sales jumped 34.3%. In the quarter, the retailer lost $2.6 million, or $0.04 a share. That’s compared to a profit of $328,000, or nil per share, a year earlier. However, the loss was due to a one-time charge of $3.5 million to close its HYBA stores (see below). Reitmans’ balance sheet remains strong: the company holds cash and securities of $166.7 million, or $2.63 a share. It has no long-term debt, and the stock yields a high 4.9%….