Caleres Inc (NYSE: CAL) stock rose over 1.3% on June 4th, 2019 (as of 12:19 pm GMT-4; Source: Google finance). For the first quarter, replenishment orders showed considerable growth, enabling the partners to keep fresh relevant product on their floors. For the first quarter, consolidated gross profit of $279.8 million was up 1.8% and the reported gross margin came in at 41.3%. Brand Portfolio segment reported gross margin was 37.2% in the first quarter and adjusted gross margin was 39.3%, up approximately 90 basis points over the prior year. This increase was due to the addition of Vionic and Blowfish and also reflects an increase in e-commerce related sales and a decrease in sales to the mass channel. For Famous Footwear, first quarter gross margin of 43.4% was down approximately 210 basis points year-over-year.
Moreover, CAL has ended the first quarter with $35.8 million of cash and equivalents and outstanding borrowings under the revolving credit facility with $318 million at quarter end, down from $335 million at year end, but up on a year-over-year basis due to the 2018 acquisition of Vionic. The consolidated inventory position at the end of the first quarter was $648.1 million. The first quarter operating cash flow was $49.9 million.
CAL in the first quarter of FY 19 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of 22 cents, missing the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of 36 cents. This excludes $0.11 of Vionic transaction related expense, which is an inventory adjustment amortization and $0.03 of Brand Portfolio expense related to the exit of the Carlos footwear brand. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 7.2 percent to $677.8 million in the first quarter of FY 19, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $673.2 million. Brand Portfolio total sales rose up 20.3% year-over-year. At Famous Footwear, same-store sales were down 1%. The total sales of Famous Footwear were $352.2 million, down 3.1% as the company had operated 28 fewer doors versus the prior year and ended the first quarter with 985 total doors after opening 4 and closing 11 in the quarter.
The company adjusted its guidance according to the first quarter 2019 performance, has lowered the projected full-year 2019 earnings to be in the range of $2.35 to $2.45 a share from between $2.45 and $2.55 a share.