Chico's FAS, Inc. (NYSE:CHS) Q1 2022 Earnings Conference Call June 7, 2022 8:00 AM ET

Company Participants

David Oliver - Senior Vice President, Finance, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer

Molly Langenstein - President, CEO

PJ Guido - CFO

Conference Call Participants

Dana Telsey - Telsey Group

Marni Shapiro - Retail Tracker

Janet Kloppenberg - JKB Research Associates

Operator

Welcome to Chico's FAS First Quarter 2022 Conference Call and Webcast. All participants will be in listen only mode. Please note, this call is being recorded.

I would now like to turn the call over to Corporate Controller, David Oliver. Mr. Oliver, please go ahead.

David Oliver

Good morning, and welcome to the Chico's FAS first quarter 2022 conference call and webcast. For reference, our earnings release can be found on our website at www.chicosfas.com under press releases of the Investor Relations page. Today's comments will include forward-looking statements regarding our current expectations, assumptions, plans, estimates, judgments and projections about our business and our industry, which speaks only as of today's date. You should not unduly rely on these statements.

Important factors that could cause actual results are events to differ materially from those projected or implied by our forward-looking statements are included in today's earnings release, our SEC filings and the comments made on this call. We disclaim any obligation to update or revise any information discussed on this call, except as may be otherwise required by law.

Certain non-GAAP measures may be referenced in today's call. A GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation schedule is included in our earnings presentation posted this morning on the Chico's FAS Investor Relations page.

Now I'll turn the call over to our CEO and President, Molly Langenstein.

Molly Langenstein

Thank you, David, and good morning, everyone. Fiscal '22 is off to a great start with year-over-year comparable sales up 41% and 11% over 2019, along with EPS that was well above the high end of our guidance. This strong financial performance and continued momentum demonstrates that our strategy is working. We continue to leverage our proven business model and execute against our strategic pillars, and we are seeing the benefits in our results.

After achieving a successful turnaround, our team is focused on delivering our 3 year growth plan and great progress is underway. Let me highlight some key accomplishments for the first quarter.

We posted $0.28 diluted EPS, driven by the 41% comparable sales growth, along with significant gross margin expansion and diligent expense control. Our strong first quarter sales growth in both our store and digital channels was boosted by key enhancements in product and marketing that drove full price selling and higher average unit retails.