Sales Gain, Income Erosion for Neiman Marcus

Annual sales for Dallas-based cataloger/retailer The Neiman Marcus Group (NYSE: NMG.A), which mails the high-end Neiman Marcus and Horchow titles, increased 9%, to $4.1 billion for the fiscal year ended July 29. Despite the revenue increase, earnings for the fiscal year fell 20%, to $328.1 million from $409 million last year. The company, which was taken private in October 2005 by an investor group led by Texas Pacific Group and Warburg Pincus in a $5.1 billion deal, recorded transaction and other costs in 2006 of about $23.5 million.

Direct marketing sales increased 31%, to $98.2 million from $75.2 million. Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least one year, increased nearly 7%.

Fourth-quarter sales climbed to $915.5 million, a 9% increase over $839.8 million for the same period of last year. But the bottom line for the quarter fell 56%, to $20.7 million from $46.7 million last year. Same-store sales rose nearly 7%. Direct marketing sales rose 8%, to $22.7 million.