Financial reports: Concepts Direct, Intimate Brands, Neiman Marcus

Concepts Direct Annual Net Loss Grows 15%

Multititle marketer Concepts Direct (Nasdaq: CDIR) enjoyed a 13% rise in fourth-quarter sales but a 90% plunge in net income. For the three months ended Dec. 31, the parent company of the Linda Anderson, Linda Anderson’s Collectibles, The Music Stand, Colorful Images, and Snoopy Etc. catalogs, posted net income of $344,000 on sales of $22.7 million. For the fourth quarter of 2000, Concept Direct had reported net income of $3.7 million on sales of $20.1 million. The company fourth-quarter 2000 net income had been somewhat inflated, however, because of a one-time net income gain of $2.4 million from the sale of land adjoining its Longmont, CO, facility.

For the entire year, sales were $55.8 million, up just slightly from $55.5 million in 2000. The net loss widened nearly 15%, to $3.1 million from $2.7 million.

Annual Sales, Income Down Slightly at Intimate Brands Columbus, OH-based Intimate Brands (NYSE: IBI), the parent company of cataloger/retailers Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, reported a 2% dip in total net sales for fiscal 2001. For the year ended Feb. 2, net sales were $5.02 billion, compared with nearly $5.12 billion for fiscal 2000. Net income dropped 9%, to $393.2 million from $432.5 million.

Fourth-quarter sales were flat at almost $1.94 billion. Net income for the quarter rose 35%, to $299.8 million from $221.6 million. The company did not break out sales by channel or by title.

2Q Bottom Line Drops 40% at Neiman Marcus Group Upscale cataloger/retailer Neiman Marcus Group (NYSE: NMG.A) reported a 2% decline in total second-quarter revenue and a 40% tumble in net earnings. For the quarter ended Jan. 26, the Dallas-based company reported net earnings of $24 million on sales of $908 million. For the comparable period of last year, net earnings were $40 million on sales of $924 million.

Neiman Marcus Direct, which includes the Horchow and Chef’s Catalog titles, suffered a 4% drop in sales, to $132 million from $138 million a year prior. On the bright side, operating earnings for the catalogs and Websites increased 13%, to $9 million from $8 million.