1-800-Flowers reports revenue dip, wider net loss

1-800-Flowers.com Inc. on Tuesday reported a wider net loss and a slight drop in revenue in the third quarter, with two calendar quirks largely canceling each other out.

Revenue at the Carle Place-based online florist and gift company for its fiscal 2017 third quarter ended April 2 dipped slightly to $233.7 million, compared with $234.2 million a year earlier. The company’s net loss was $11.13 million, compared with $9.13 million in the same period in 2016.

1-800-Flowers’ gourmet food and gift basket segments were affected by the Easter holiday shifting into the company’s fourth quarter this year. The impact was largely offset by the 10.2 percent revenue growth in the consumer floral segment and 7 percent increase in the BloomNet segment compared with the same period the year before. Both floral segments benefited from Valentine’s Day falling on a Tuesday this year.

“In our floral businesses, we more than offset the impact of the Easter shift by continuing to drive strong growth in our everyday gifting business and maximizing the benefit of the weekday placement for the Valentine holiday,” 1-800-Flowers chief executive Chris McCann said in a statement. “However, the later Easter date this year moved significant revenues out of the third quarter in our Gourmet Food and Gift Baskets segment. Combined with the timing of some Harry & David revenues, this impacted both top and bottom line results for the quarter.”

1-800-Flowers reiterated its forecast for revenue growth in fiscal 2017 of 3 to 4 percent, compared with revenue of $1.17 billion reported in fiscal 2016.

The company’s current guidance for fiscal 2017 does not reflect the pending sale of its Fannie May and Harry London chocolate brands. In March, 1-800-Flowers announced it signed an agreement to sell its Fannie May Confections Brands unit to Italian chocolatier Ferrero International S.A., maker of Nutella and Tic Tac, for $115 million. The deal with Ferrero, one of the world’s largest chocolate confectionery companies, is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close this month.

Shares of 1-800-Flowers dropped by 50 cents, or 4.47 percent, to close at $10.45 on the Nasdaq Stock Market Tuesday. The shares are up more than 33 percent in the past year.

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