Benzinga | Jun 17, 2021 05:38PM EDT

Birks Group FY21 Sales C$143.1M

All figures presented herein are in Canadian dollars.

The Company's financial results for the fiscal year ended March 27, 2021 were significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, most notably by the temporary closure of certain of the Company's stores at intermittent periods during fiscal 2021 as a consequence of the restrictions imposed by provincial governmental authorities.

During the fiscal year ended March 27, 2021, or fiscal 2021, the Company achieved net sales of $143.1 million, a decrease of $26.3 million, or 15.5%, from the fiscal year ended March 28, 2020, or fiscal 2020, yielding gross profit of $56.4 million, a decrease of $8.1 million, or 12.6%, compared to fiscal 2020, as a direct result of the negative impacts of COVID-19.

Gross profit as a percentage of sales was 39.4%, an increase of 130 basis points from the gross profit as a percentage of sales of 38.1% in fiscal 2020. Despite the decline in sales and gross profit volumes, the Company was able, through its proactive management of the impact of the pandemic, to control costs. Total operating expenses were $59.2 million in the fiscal year ended March 27, 2021, representing a decrease of $11.8 million, or 16.6%, as compared to fiscal 2020. The Company's fiscal 2021 EBITDA(1) was $2.6 million, an increase of $4.3 million compared to EBITDA(1) of negative $1.7 million for fiscal 2020.

As of June 17, 2021, 20 of the Company's 29 stores are open, albeit at reduced operating hours. The remaining nine stores, all located in Ontario, are expected to remain closed for in-person shopping in accordance with the Ontario government's orders until at least July 6, 2021.

Mr. Jean-Christophe B?dos, President and Chief Executive Officer of Birks Group, commented: "I am very proud of how we have navigated through the challenges brought about by COVID-19 during the past fiscal year and I believe that our results reflect the agility, hard work and adaptability of our employees as we ended the year stronger than we started. In response to the pandemic, our teams reacted very quickly to ensure that we continuously met the evolving needs of our customers throughout these unprecedented times, including the improvement of our omni-channel offering which was reflected in the 201% increase in our e-commerce sales during fiscal 2021."

Mr. B?dos further commented: "Thanks to our disciplined approach at managing liquidity, our focus on cost containment and our emphasis on generating revenues from our retail network while open under strict health and safety protocols, our concierge service, and our e-commerce business, as well as the continued support from our key stakeholders and partners, we have been able to achieve improved results in fiscal 2021 as compared to last year. Looking forward, I believe that the actions we have taken since the start of the pandemic and our lessons learned have placed the Company in a stronger position in terms of customer focus and dedication, innovation, and productivity which we can leverage to fuel long-term growth."