By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com -- Dillards Inc (NYSE:DDS) rallied Thursday after the company reported better-than-expected earnings.
The department store reported a net income of $251.1 million. This represented a significant increase from the prior year's quarter of $158.2 million. Furthermore, net income per share was a reported $13.68 compared to net income of $7.25 per share in the prior year.
Inventory increased 4% in the first quarter, following a 17% decrease in the prior year. Dillard's results were boosted by comparable retail sales rising 23%.
"Our customer responded well to our merchandise in the first quarter producing a 23% increase in same-store sales. From this strong sell through, we reported a record high retail gross margin of 47.3% leading to net income of $251 million or $13.68 per share," commented CEO William Dillard.
Dillard added, "We ended the quarter with $862 million in cash after share repurchases totaling $187 million."
Dillard's forecasts its capital expenditures to be $150 million, up from $104 million in 2021.
Shares of the department store company hit a high of $317.09 Thursday before retracing. At the time of writing, they are up 6.7% at $302.18.