{"id":388826,"date":"2020-11-25T22:34:35","date_gmt":"2020-11-26T03:34:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/?p=388826"},"modified":"2020-11-25T22:34:35","modified_gmt":"2020-11-26T03:34:35","slug":"birks-group-reports-its-mid-year-fy2021-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/birks-group-reports-its-mid-year-fy2021-results\/","title":{"rendered":"Birks Group Reports its Mid-Year FY2021 Results"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Canada NewsWire<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

\n MONTREAL<\/span>, Nov. 25, 2020<\/span> \/CNW Telbec\/ –\u00a0Birks Group Inc. (the “Company” or “Birks Group”) (NYSE American: BGI), today reported its financial results for the twenty-six week period ended September 26, 2020<\/span>. <\/p>\n

\n Highlights<\/b>\n <\/p>\n

\n All figures presented herein are in Canadian dollars.<\/i>\n <\/p>\n

The Company’s financial results for the twenty-six week period ended September 26, 2020<\/span> were significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, most notably by the temporary closure of the Company’s stores from the start of the fiscal year through June 2020<\/span> as a consequence of the restrictions imposed by provincial government authorities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the twenty-six week period ended September 26, 2020<\/span>, the Company achieved net sales of $57.0 million<\/span>, a decrease of $28.3 million<\/span>, or 33.2%, from the comparable prior period in fiscal 2020, yielding gross profit of $22.8 million<\/span>, a decrease of $9.8 million<\/span>, or 30.0%, compared to the same period in fiscal 2020, as a direct result of the negative impact of COVID-19. Gross profit as a percentage of sales was 40.1%, an increase of 190 basis points from the gross profit as a percentage of sales of 38.2% in the twenty-six week period ended September 28<\/span>, 2019.\u00a0 Despite the decline in sales and gross profit volumes, the Company was able, through its proactive management of the impact of the pandemic, to control costs. Total operating expenses was $24.2 million<\/span> in the twenty-six week period ended September 26, 2020<\/span>, representing a decrease of $10.4 million<\/span>, or 30.1%, as compared to same period in fiscal 2020. Overall, the Company reported a net loss of $2.8 million<\/span>, an improvement of $1.8 million<\/span>, or 38.3%, compared to the twenty-six week period ended September 28, 2019<\/span>. A significant factor leading to the overall improvement was the fact that during the second thirteen-week period ended September 26, 2020<\/span>, subsequent to the re-opening of our store network, the Company generated a 4% increase in comparable store sales.<\/p>\n

As of July 2020<\/span>, the Company had re-opened all of its 30 stores, albeit at reduced operating hours. As a result of provincial restrictions to address the “second wave” of the COVID-19 pandemic, our Winnipeg<\/span> store is currently temporarily closed for in-person shopping for a four-week period since November 12, 2020<\/span> and six of our Ontario<\/span> stores, including our Bloor street flagship store, are also temporarily closed for in-person shopping, \u00a0for a four-week period since November 23, 2020<\/span>. However, all of the affected stores remain available for concierge telephone service and curbside pickup.<\/p>\n

Mr. Jean-Christophe B\u00e9dos, President and Chief Executive Officer of Birks Group, commented: “Since the start of the fiscal year, we have shown great resilience and agility in taking the necessary steps to mitigate the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company, notably by managing liquidity tightly, by working with our various partners and stakeholders to contain costs, by increasing our focus on generating revenues from our e-commerce business and concierge service, and by adapting to emerging trends to better serve our clients. At the outset of the pandemic, we established a cross-functional management team that reviewed business goals, objectives and processes in order to steer the Company through this global crisis and protect the well-being of our employees, clients, partners and communities. The cross-functional management team continues to monitor the situation very closely, on a provincial, national and global basis.”\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Mr. B\u00e9dos further commented: “Thanks to the dedication of our employees and the support from our key stakeholders and partners, we have been able to achieve improved results in the twenty-six week period ended September 26, 2020<\/span> as compared to last year. Our fiscal discipline during the period has also allowed us to deliver improvements to results from operations. As we continue to navigate through the pandemic, I believe that the actions we have taken since the start of the fiscal year and during the pandemic, has better positioned the Company for managing challenges through uncertain times.” <\/p>\n

\n Financial overview for the twenty-six week period ended September 26, 2020<\/span>:<\/b>\n <\/p>\n