Qurate Retail is working to build a turnaround even as its first-quarter sales revenue and earnings slipped.
Company net income was $1 million, or zero earnings per share, versus $206 million, or 49 cents per diluted share, in the previous-year period.
Adjusted for one-time events, net income was $58 million, or 15 percent per share, versus $201 million, or 48 cents per diluted share, in the year-before quarter., Qurate reported.
Adjusted earnings fell 10 cents short of a Yahoo Finance-published first-quarter analyst consensus estimate as revenue matched the estimate.
Total Revenue was $2.88 billion versus $3.34 billion in the year-earlier period, Qurate stated. By division, revenue for the QxH segment, including QVC and HSN, was $1.68 billion versus $1.94 billion in the year-prior period while revenue for QVC International was $670 million versus $774 million, revenue for Zulily was $232 million versus $377 million and revenue for Cornerstore was $297 million versus $250 million.
E-commerce revenue decreased 14% to $1.8 billion or 61% of total revenue, the company indicated.
Company operating income was $106 million versus $373 million in the year-past period.
In a conference call, Jeff Davis, Qurate CFO, noted that home merchandise revenue declined 16% in the quarter with lower demand, particularly in floor care, fitness, wellness, kitchen electrics and cookware, which were most attractive to shoppers during the pandemic.
In announcing the financial results, David Rawlinson, Qurate president and CEO, said, “We took important first steps in our turnaround, with a focus on stabilizing our core U.S. V-commerce business and setting the foundation for accelerating growth in streaming. We restructured the organization and leadership of the QVC U.S. and HSN brands, formed a new dedicated streaming business unit and attracted a proven leader at Zulily. Our first-quarter results reflect the continued challenges of operating amidst extreme supply chain disruptions. We don’t believe this quarter’s results reflect the long-term underlying health of our businesses. In addition, heightened inflationary pressure and the situation in Ukraine led to depressed consumer sentiment, and we experienced a larger-than-expected operational disruption related to the December fire at our Rocky Mount, NC fulfillment center. While our turnaround will take time, and progress may not be a straight line, we are starting from a position of strength with scale in our television and streaming reach, a strong financial profile, and core competencies in building consumer engagement.”
