North American party supplies retailer Party City is celebrating its Q1 results for 2018 after reporting a smaller loss than expected and maintaining its full-year aims.
The company reported a loss of $1.2 million for Q1 (ending 31 March), compared with a loss of $4.7 million for the same period in 2017. Analysts expected a loss of $3.5 million this year.
Revenue rose by an impressive 6.5% to $507.8 million, which exceeded predictions and was a significant increase on 2017’s $477 million.
Retail sales increased by 7.2%, driven primarily by growth from new stores, while same-store sales increased by 2.4%. This has been partly attributed to the positive timing of both New Year’s Eve and Easter.
“I am pleased with the start of 2018 as both top and bottom line objectives were met, along with accelerated EPS growth,” said Party City ceo James M. Harrison. “The strength of our vertical model fueled gross margin expansion, while good progress was achieved against many key growth strategies.”
The total revenue forecast for 2018 is $2.44 billion – $2.49 billion, while profit is expected to be between $143 million – $154 million.
Party City operates over 900 party supply retail outlets across North America, including approximately 150 franchise stores.
