Form 8-K

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 8-K

 

 

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): March 14, 2012

 

 

VERA BRADLEY, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

 

Indiana   001-34918   27-2935063

(State or Other Jurisdiction

of Incorporation)

 

(Commission

File Number)

 

(IRS Employer

Identification No.)

2208 Production Road,

Fort Wayne, Indiana

  46808
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)   (Zip Code)

(877) 708-8372

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

None

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

 

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

 

¨ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

¨ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

 

 


The information in Items 2.02 and 9.01 of this Form 8-K is being furnished and shall not be deemed “filed” for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that Section. The information in this Form 8-K shall not be incorporated by reference into any registration statement or other document pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Item 2.02 Results of Operations and Financial Condition

On March 14, 2012, Vera Bradley, Inc. issued an earnings press release for the quarterly and annual periods ended January 28, 2012. The press release, including attachments, is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this report.

The press release furnished as Exhibit 99.1 contains financial measures that are not calculated in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP). The non-GAAP financial measures are adjusted operating income, adjusted income tax expense, adjusted net income, and adjusted net income (or earnings) per share. The non-GAAP financial information should be considered supplemental to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. Management, however, believes that these non-GAAP financial measures, when used in conjunction with the results presented in accordance with GAAP, may provide a more complete understanding of the Company’s core operating results and may facilitate a fuller analysis of the Company’s results, particularly in evaluating performance from one period to another. Management has chosen to provide this supplemental information to investors, analysts, and other interested parties to enable them to perform additional analyses of operating results and to illustrate the results of operations giving effect to the non-GAAP adjustments shown in the reconciliation. Management strongly encourages investors to review the Company’s consolidated financial statements and publicly filed reports in their entirety and cautions investors that the non-GAAP measures used by the Company may differ from similar measures used by other companies, even when similar terms are used to identify such measures.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits

 

(d) Exhibits

 

  99.1 Press Release dated March 14, 2012


SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

 

   

Vera Bradley, Inc.

(Registrant)

Date: March 14, 2012

      /s/ Jeffrey A. Blade
      Jeffrey A. Blade
     

Executive Vice President – Chief

Financial and Administrative Officer


EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit No.

  

Description

99.1    Press release dated March 14, 2012
Press Release dated March 14, 2012

Exhibit 99.1

Confidential Draft v.4

 

LOGO

Vera Bradley Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2012 Results

 

   

For the fourth quarter, net revenues increased 23% to $134.5 million; Direct net revenues rose 46%, including an increase of 9.3% in comparable-store sales, and Indirect net revenues decreased 0.7%.

 

   

Diluted EPS were $0.50 for the fourth quarter, compared to $0.35 for the same quarter of fiscal 2011, an increase of 43%.

 

   

Full year net revenues increased 26% to $460.8 million; Direct net revenues rose 49%, including an increase of 10.9% in comparable-store sales, and Indirect net revenues increased 10%.

 

   

Diluted EPS were $1.43 for fiscal 2012, compared to $1.25 on a GAAP basis and $1.20 on an adjusted basis for fiscal 2011, an increase of 14% and 19%, respectively.

FORT WAYNE, Ind., March 14, 2012 — Vera Bradley, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRA) today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended January 28, 2012.

“Fiscal 2012 represents another outstanding year for Vera Bradley, as reflected in our fourth quarter and full year results, thanks to our talented team and our dedicated retail partners,” said Michael C. Ray, Vera Bradley’s Chief Executive Officer. “The strength and appeal of our brand and our product portfolio, our significant multi-channel capabilities, and the ongoing loyalty of our customers, resulted in solid growth in all of our distribution channels during the year. Looking ahead, we remain excited about our prospects as we continue to execute our growth strategies, which include expanding our product offerings and growing in underpenetrated markets.”

Fourth Quarter Results

The Company reported net revenues of $134.5 million for the fourth quarter, compared to $109.4 million in the same period of the prior year, an increase of $25.1 million, or 23%. By segment, Direct revenues increased 46% to $81.2 million, reflecting growth across all channels, including comparable-store sales increasing 9.3% and E-commerce revenue growth of 28%. Indirect revenues decreased 0.7% to $53.3


million, primarily due to an effort to partner with our specialty retailers to ensure product was available well in advance of the holiday season. This resulted in more of these sales occurring in the third quarter rather than the fourth quarter. Gross profit for the quarter rose 23% to $75.9 million, and gross margin remained relatively unchanged at 56.4% compared to 56.5% in the same period of the prior year.

Operating income increased 23.0% to $32.7 million, or 24.3% of net revenues, in the fourth quarter, compared to operating income of $26.5 million, or 24.3% of net revenues, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011.

Net income for the fourth quarter increased 41% from the prior year to $20.1 million, or $0.50 per diluted share, compared to $14.2 million, or $0.35 per diluted share in the same period of the prior year.

Fiscal Year 2012 Results

For the fiscal year ended January 28, 2012, net revenues increased 26% to $460.8 million, from $366.1 million in the comparable prior-year period. By segment, Direct revenues increased 49% to $225.3 million, with comparable-store sales increasing 10.9% compared to fiscal 2011, and Indirect revenues increased 10% to $235.6 million.

Gross profit for fiscal 2012 increased 23% to $257.6 million resulting in a gross profit margin of 55.9% versus 57.1% in the prior year. The gross margin decline during fiscal 2012 was principally due to increases in cotton prices and labor costs.

Operating income for fiscal 2012 increased to $96.2 million, or 20.9% of net revenues, compared to $53.3 million in the prior year. Operating income for fiscal 2011 included $21.9 million of compensation expense related to restricted-stock awards. Excluding these expenses, fiscal 2012 operating income increased 27.8% from adjusted operating income in fiscal 2011 of $75.2 million, or 20.6% of net revenues.

Net income for fiscal 2012 was $57.9 million, or $1.43 per diluted share, compared to $46.2 million, or $1.25 per diluted share, in fiscal 2011. After adjusting fiscal 2011 for the previously discussed compensation expense and applying an assumed tax rate of 40%, adjusted net income for fiscal 2011 was $44.2 million or $1.20 per diluted share.


Cash flow from operations for fiscal 2012 of $51.5 million enabled us to reduce long-term debt by $41.8 million to $25.1 million and end the year with cash and cash equivalents of $4.9 million. Inventory at the end of fiscal 2012 was $107.0 million, compared to $96.7 million at the end of the prior year, reflecting growth of 11%, below the increase in net revenues of 26%.

Outlook

For the first quarter of fiscal 2013, the Company expects net revenues to be in the range of $115 million to $117 million and diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $0.27 to $0.29, based on diluted weighted-average shares outstanding of 40.5 million.

For full-year fiscal 2013, the Company now expects net revenues to be in the range of $540 million to $545 million and diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $1.68 to $1.71, based on diluted weighted-average shares outstanding of 40.5 million.

Call Information

A conference call to discuss fourth quarter and fiscal year 2012 results is scheduled for today, March 14, 2012, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. A broadcast of the call will be available via Vera Bradley’s Investor Relations section of its website, www.verabradley.com. In addition, a replay of the call will be available shortly after the conclusion of the call and remain available until March 28, 2012. To access the recording, listeners should dial (877) 870-5176, and enter the access code, 5960469.

About Vera Bradley, Inc.

Vera Bradley infuses color into all aspects of women’s lives with vibrant handbags, accessories, luggage, eyewear, travel items and gifts. Founded in 1982 by Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia R. Miller, the brand inspires women to "be colorful" with designs that reflect their personal style. Today, you’ll find Vera Bradley accessories in 48 retail stores in the U.S., 8 outlet stores, 3,300 specialty retailers and online at verabradley.com. Vera Bradley employs 2,000 and the company’s fiscal 2012 sales were $461 million. The company's commitment to breast cancer research continues to expand through the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer. For more information about Vera Bradley (NASDAQ: VRA), visit www.verabradley.com/mediaroom.


Website Information

We routinely post important information for investors on our website www.verabradley.com in the "Investor Relations" section. We intend to use this website as a means of disclosing material, non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Accordingly, investors should monitor the Investor Relations section of our website, in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings, public conference calls, presentations and webcasts. The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into, and is not a part of, this document.

Vera Bradley Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements in this release are "forward-looking statements" made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current expectations or beliefs concerning future events and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we expected, including: possible adverse changes in general economic conditions and their impact on consumer confidence and spending; possible inability to predict and respond in a timely manner to changes in consumer demand; possible loss of key management or design associates or inability to attract and retain the talent required for our business; possible inability to maintain and enhance our brand; possible inability to successfully implement our growth strategies or manage our growing business; possible inability to successfully open new stores as planned; and possible inability to sustain levels of comparable-store sales. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in our forward-looking statements, please refer to “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 29, 2011. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement. Financial schedules are attached to this release.

CONTACT:

Investors:

Vera Bradley

Paul G. Blair

(260) 207-5183

ICR, Inc.

Joseph Teklits

Jean Fontana

Jean.fontana@icrinc.com

(203) 682-8200

Media:

877-708-VERA (8372)

Mediacontact@verabradley.com


Vera Bradley, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

($ in thousands)

 

     January 28,
2012
     January 29,
2011
 
     (unaudited)      (audited)  

Assets

     

Current assets:

     

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 4,922       $ 13,953   

Accounts receivable, net

     38,097         34,300   

Inventories

     106,967         96,717   

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     8,343         6,754   

Deferred income taxes

     8,010         8,743   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total current assets

     166,339         160,467   

Property, plant, and equipment, net

     52,312         42,984   

Other assets

     862         2,588   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total assets

   $ 219,513       $ 206,039   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity

     

Current liabilities:

     

Accounts payable

   $ 27,276       $ 30,012   

Accrued employment costs

     15,738         17,892   

Other accrued liabilities

     15,297         10,551   

Income taxes payable

     1,705         10,010   

Current portion of long-term debt

     89         83   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

     60,105         68,548   

Long-term debt

     25,095         66,934   

Deferred income taxes

     4,205         3,300   

Other long-term liabilities

     6,101         2,935   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     95,506         141,717   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Shareholders’ equity:

     

Additional paid-in-capital

     73,590         71,923   

Retained earnings (accumulated deficit)

     50,320         (7,601

Accumulated other comprehensive income

     97         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total shareholders’ equity

     124,007         64,322   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity

   $ 219,513       $ 206,039   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 


Vera Bradley, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income

($ in thousands, except per share amounts)

 

     Thirteen Weeks Ended      Fiscal Year Ended  
     January 28,
2012
     January 29,
2011
     January 28,
2012
     January 29,
2011
 
     (unaudited)      (unaudited)      (unaudited)      (audited)  

Net revenues

   $ 134,515       $ 109,385       $ 460,843       $ 366,057   

Cost of sales

     58,642         47,548         203,220         156,910   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Gross profit

     75,873         61,837         257,623         209,147   

Selling, general, and administrative expenses

     44,953         37,229         169,427         163,053   

Other income

     1,746         1,939         7,975         7,225   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Operating income

     32,666         26,547         96,171         53,319   

Interest expense, net

     214         398         1,147         1,625   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Income before income taxes

     32,452         26,149         95,024         51,694   

Income tax expense

     12,350         11,914         37,103         5,496   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net income

   $ 20,102       $ 14,235       $ 57,921       $ 46,198   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Basic weighted-average shares outstanding

     40,506,677         40,506,670         40,506,672         36,812,570   

Diluted weighted-average shares outstanding

     40,555,143         40,525,973         40,542,302         36,850,915   

Basic net income per share

   $ 0.50       $ 0.35       $ 1.43       $ 1.25   

Diluted net income per share

     0.50         0.35         1.43         1.25   


Vera Bradley, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

($ in thousands)

 

     Fiscal Year Ended  
      January 28,
2012
    January 29,
2011
 
     (unaudited)     (audited)  

Cash flows from operating activities

    

Net income

   $ 57,921      $ 46,198   

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

    

Depreciation and amortization of property, plant, and equipment

     9,457        8,411   

Provision for doubtful accounts

     553        256   

Loss on disposal of property, plant, and equipment

     51        278   

Write-off of debt-issuance costs

     —          227   

Stock-based compensation

     1,591        15,889   

Deferred income taxes

     1,638        (5,443

Changes in assets and liabilities:

    

Accounts receivable

     (4,350     (3,543

Inventories

     (10,199     (30,182

Other assets

     137        (393

Accounts payable

     (2,736     10,791   

Income taxes payable

     (8,305     10,010   

Accrued and other liabilities

     5,758        5,967   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

     51,516        58,466   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash flows from investing activities

    

Purchases of property, plant, and equipment

     (18,836     (11,365

Restricted cash on deposit

     —          1,500   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

     (18,836     (9,865
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash flows from financing activities

    

Payments on financial-institution debt

     (76,200     (68,923

Borrowings on financial-institution debt

     34,450        105,673   

Payments on vendor-financed debt

     (83     (54

Payments of debt-issuance costs

     —          (1,104

Issuance of stock, net of costs

     —          56,337   

Repurchase of stock

     —          (304

Payments of distributions

     —          (132,782

Other

     76        —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in financing activities

     (41,757     (41,157
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

     46        —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

   $ (9,031     7,444   

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period

     13,953        6,509   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents, end of period

   $ 4,922      $ 13,953   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Supplemental disclosure of cash-flow information

    

Income taxes paid

   $ 43,850      $ 921   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Interest paid

   $ 956      $ 1,117   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Supplemental disclosure of non-cash activity

    

Vendor-financed purchases of fixed assets

   $ —        $ 185   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 


Vera Bradley, Inc.

Supplemental Information—Consolidated Statements of Income

Reconciliation of Operating Income, as reported to Operating Income, as adjusted

($ in thousands)

(unaudited)

 

     Fiscal Year
Ended
 
     January 29,
2011
 

Operating income, as reported

   $ 53,319   

Adjustments

  

Compensation expense related to restricted-stock awards

     21,922   
  

 

 

 

Operating income, as adjusted

   $ 75,241   
  

 

 

 

Vera Bradley, Inc.

Supplemental Information—Consolidated Statements of Income

Reconciliation of Net Income, as reported to Net Income, as adjusted

($ in thousands, except per share amounts)

(unaudited)

 

     Fiscal Year
Ended
 
     January 29,
2011
 

Net income, as reported

   $ 46,198   

Adjustments

  

Compensation expense related to restricted-stock awards

     21,922   

Adjustment to income taxes *

     (23,950
  

 

 

 

Net income, as adjusted

   $ 44,170   
  

 

 

 

Basic weighted-average shares outstanding

     36,812,570   

Diluted weighted-average shares outstanding

     36,850,915   

Adjusted net income per share:

  

Basic

   $ 1.20   

Diluted

   $ 1.20   

 

* Assumes a combined federal, state, and local effective tax rate of 40%.