Montreal, July 16, 2024 /CNW/ - Birks Group Inc. (the "Company" or "Birks Group") (NYSE:BGI), today reported its financial results for the fiscal year ended March 30, 2024. Highlights All figures presented herein are in Canadian dollars. For the year ended March 30, 2024 ("fiscal 2024"), the Company delivered year-over-year sales growth of 13.7%, an increase in comparable store sales of 7.5%, an improvement in gross profit of 8.2%, and reported a positive operating income. Total net sales for the fiscal year ended March 30, 2024 were $185.3 million and gross profit was $73.6 million for the same period. The increase in sales and gross profit was driven primarily from the retail sector where third-party branded watches and jewelry outperformed the same prior year period. Gross profit as a percentage of sales for the year ended March 30, 2024 was 39.7%, a decrease of 200 basis points from the gross profit as a percentage of sales of 41.7% for the year ended March 25, 2023 ("fiscal 2023") as a result of the sales mix favoring high-end third-party branded timepieces and jewelry. Mr. Jean-Christophe Bédos, President and Chief Executive Officer of Birks Group, commented: "During fiscal 2024, we achieved a 13.7% growth in net sales and a 7.5% growth in comparable store sales. Our retail performance and our product offerings, particularly our third-party branded watches and jewelry offering, have demonstrated their strength by outperforming the same period last year. We are pleased with the store renovation projects that were undertaken last year at our Chinook and Laval stores, which resulted in higher sales post opening. We made progress towards achieving our strategic initiatives in fiscal 2024, and we continued to invest in our product offering and enhance our customer experience." Mr. Bédos further commented: "Despite a challenging economic environment throughout the year including ongoing inflationary and interest rates pressure, the result achieved in fiscal 2024 is a testament to our team's commitment to our customers. I am grateful for the unwavering efforts of all our employees and the excellent execution of our initiatives during this past year. While in the near-term we continue to run our business in an agile manner given the current economic environment, looking beyond, we remain committed to our long-term vision to generate sustainable, long-term shareholder value." Financial overview for the fiscal year ended March 30, 2024: Total net sales for fiscal 2024 were $185.3 million compared to $163.0 million in fiscal 2023, an increase of $22.3 million, or 13.7%. The increase in net sales in fiscal 2024 was primarily driven by the results of the Company's retail channel. Net retail sales were $20.4 million higher than fiscal 2023, an increase primarily driven by the strong performance of third party branded timepieces and jewelry throughout the retail network, including at the newly renovated Chinook and Laval stores, partially offset by a decrease in the Birks product brand sales; Comparable store sales increased by 7.5% in fiscal 2024 compared to fiscal 2023, mainly driven by strong third party branded timepiece sales and by an increase in average sales transaction value, partially offset by a decrease in Birks product brand sales; Total gross profit for fiscal 2024 was $73.6 million, or 39.7% of net sales, compared to $68.0 million, or 41.7% of net sales in fiscal 2023. The increase in gross profit was primarily driven by increased sales volume experienced during fiscal 2024 due to strong third party branded timepieces and jewelry sales, partially offset by higher product and packaging costs. The decrease of 200 basis points in gross margin percentage resulted primarily from the sales mix with increased sales from third party branded timepieces and jewelry, partially offset by lower promotions and discounts; SG&A expenses in fiscal 2024 were $65.7 million, or 35.5% of net sales, compared to $66.1 million, or 40.6% of net sales in fiscal 2023, a decrease of $0.4 million. The main drivers of the decrease in SG&A expenses in fiscal 2024 include lower marketing costs ($1.3 million) and lower non-cash stock based compensation expense ($2.0 million) due to the fluctuations in the Company's stock price during the fiscal year, offset by higher compensation costs ($1.5 million) primarily due to longer store opening hours compared to fiscal 2023, higher credit card costs ($1.1 million) due to higher costs on private label credit cards and proprietary credit cards, higher occupancy costs ($0.4 million) and higher general operating costs and variable costs ($0.3 million). As a percentage of sales, SG&A expenses in fiscal 2024 decreased by 510 basis points as compared to fiscal 2023; The Company's EBITDA(1) for fiscal 2024 was $10.0 million, an increase of $6.2 million, compared to an EBITDA(1) of $3.8 million for fiscal 2023; The Company's reported operating income for fiscal 2024 was $1.2 million, an increase of $5.0 million, compared to a reported operating loss of $3.8 million for fiscal 2023; The Company's recognized interest and other financing costs were $8.0 million in fiscal 2024, an increase of $2.4 million, compared to recognized interest and other financing costs of $5.6 million in fiscal 2023. This increase is due to an increase in our average borrowing rate on our debt, an increase in the average amount outstanding on our revolver credit facility, and additional borrowings, partially offset by a foreign exchange gain of $0.2 million in fiscal 2024 compared to a foreign exchange loss of $0.5 million in fiscal 2023 on our U.S. dollar denominated debt; The Company recognized a net loss for fiscal 2024 of $4.6 million, or $0.24 per share, compared to a net loss for fiscal 2023 of $7.4 million, or $0.40 per share. (1) This is a non-GAAP financial measure defined below under "Non-GAAP Measures" and accompanied by a reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. About Birks Group Inc. Birks Group is a leading designer of fine jewelry, and an operator of luxury jewelry, timepieces and gifts retail stores in Canada. The Company operates 18 stores under the Maison Birks brand in most major metropolitan markets in Canada, one retail location in Calgary under the Brinkhaus brand, one retail location in Vancouver operated under the Graff brand, one location in Vancouver under the Patek Philippe brand, and one retail location in Laval under the Breitling brand. Birks fine jewelry collections are also available through select SAKS Fifth Avenue stores in Canada and the U.S., select Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths locations in the United Kingdom, in Mayors stores in the United States, in W. Kruk stores in Poland as well as several jewelry retailers across North America. Birks was founded in 1879 and has become Canada's premier retailer and designer of fine jewelry, timepieces and gifts. Additional information can be found on Birks' web site, www.birks.com. NON-GAAP MEASURES The Company reports financial information in ...