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Starbucks Corporation announced on Thursday record revenues and earnings for its fiscal first quarter ended December 29, 2002.
For the 13 weeks ended December 29, 2002, consolidated net revenues increased 25 percent to $1 billion from $805 million for the same 13-week period of fiscal 2002. Retail revenues increased 25 percent to $849 million, and specialty revenues increased 25 percent to $154 million. Comparable company-operated store sales increased 9 percent as compared with the same 13-week period of fiscal 2002.
Net earnings for the 13-week period ended December 29, 2002, increased to $80.0 million from $68.4 million for the same period in fiscal 2002. Diluted earnings per share were $0.20 for the 13-week period ended December 29, 2002, compared to $0.17 for the comparable period in fiscal 2002. Net earnings for the 13-week period ended December 30, 2001, included a gain of $13.4 million recognized on the sale of a portion of the company’s investment in Starbucks Coffee Japan, Ltd. Excluding the gain, net earnings increased 33 percent from the comparable 13-week period ended December 30, 2001. There were no similar gains recorded in the first fiscal quarter of 2003.
“We are proud of the unified effort from our more than 60,000 partners (employees) working throughout the company that resulted in Starbucks strongest quarterly performance to date,” stated Orin Smith, Starbucks president and chief executive officer. “Specifically, this period marked the first $1 billion revenue quarter in the company’s history. Not only did the company exceed its stated revenue growth target, but it also exceeded its comparable store sales and earnings per share targets. In addition, Starbucks was named one of the `100 Best Companies to Work For’ by FORTUNE Magazine for the fifth time. This recognition validates the importance of our continued commitment to both our customers and partners. Based on our strong first quarter results, we are excited about the prospects for the remainder of fiscal 2003 and beyond.”
Today, the company raised its fiscal 2003 earnings per share target to $0.67-$0.68 from $0.65-$0.66. On a quarterly basis, excluding one time items in fiscal 2002, Starbucks continues to target approximately 20 percent earnings per share growth for the remainder of the year, which translates to $0.13 in the second quarter, $0.16-$0.17 in the third quarter, and $0.18 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2003. The company further stated that based on current trends it believes January comparable store sales growth will exceed the top end of its full year target range of 3-7 percent. Starbucks also reiterated the following fiscal 2003 targets: open at least 1,200 new stores; achieve comparable stores sales growth of 3 to 7 percent, with monthly anomalies, and; increase total revenues by approximately 20 percent.
