Qurate Retail Group fell short in its fourth quarter of a Wall Street earnings estimate and just surpassed one for revenue as the company continues a restructuring initiative.
Net loss for the quarter was $51 million, or 13 cents diluted per share, versus a net loss of $215 million, or 54 cents per diluted share, in the year-before period, the company noted. Adjusted for one-time events, net loss was $18 million, or five cents per share, versus a net income of $160 million, or 40 cents per share, in the year-previous quarter.
An analyst consensus estimate published by MarketBeat called for adjusted diluted earnings per share of 14 cents and revenues of $3.51 billion.
E-commerce revenue at Qurate Retail decreased 14% in the fourth quarter to $2.3 billion year over year and represented 64% of total revenue in the period.
Total revenue was $3.53 billion versus $4.06 billion in the year-earlier quarter, Qurate Retail stated. Revenue from the QXH business, which includes the QVC and HSN operations, was $2.26 billion versus $2.54 billion in the year-prior period. Revenues for QVC international slipped from $813 million to $666 million, those for Cornerstone slipped from $357 million to $348 million and those for Zulily slipped from $351 million to $254 million versus the year-past period.
Company operating income was $42 million versus $7 million in the year-previous quarter. Operating income fell to $28 million from $247 million at QXH, to $85 from $141 million at QVC International, to a $14 million operating loss from $27 in operating income at Cornerstone and improved to a $47 million operating loss from a $396 million operating loss at Zulily, year over year.
For the full fiscal year, net loss was $2.59 billion, or $6.83 per diluted share, versus net income of $340 million, or 82 cents per diluted share, in the year before, the company reported. Adjusted net income was $58 million, or 15 cents per diluted share, versus $716 million, and $1.73 per diluted share, in the year previous.
Revenue was $12.11 billion versus $14.04 billion in the year prior, the company maintained. Operating loss was $2.04 billion versus operating income of $1.09 billion in the year previous.
E-commerce revenue decreased by 14% to $7.6 billion or 62% of total revenue for the full fiscal year.
In the quarter that ended December 31, Qurate Retail announced Bill Wafford joined the company as group CFO, effective March 20, adding to an executive lineup it has recently been updating. Past CFO of Everlane, JCPenney, Vitamin Shoppe, Wafford has 25 years of experience in corporate finance, management consulting and executive leadership, Qurate Retail reported. The company also closed the sale and leaseback of United Kingdom and German fulfillment centers in January 2023 for proceeds of $182 million
“2022 was a challenging year for the company,” said David Rawlinson, Qurate Retail president and CEO. “We faced downstream impacts from the December 2021 fire at our Rocky Mount fulfillment center throughout the year, while also experiencing macro pressure that impacted consumer demand. We have taken action to strengthen the balance sheet, improve execution and aggressively cut costs, including meaningfully reducing excess inventory and undergoing a structural reorganization. These efforts are part of a multi-year strategic plan for financial and operating improvement that will begin to materialize in the coming quarters. Today, we announced Bill Wafford as chief financial officer of Qurate Retail Group and have the management team in place to execute. We believe we are entering 2023 in a healthier position with operating discipline to achieve our financial targets.”
