Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. Raises Guidance for Fiscal Year 2019 for Total Revenue and Pre-tax Income

Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE: BBW) updated its financial guidance for fiscal year 2019 ahead of its presentation at the 22^nd Annual ICR Conference. The Company is raising its guidance for fiscal 2019 from what was previously issued on December 5, 2019.

On a preliminary basis for the 2019 fiscal year (52-weeks ending February 1, 2020 compared to the 52-weeks ended February 2, 2019), the Company currently expects:

• Total revenue for the fiscal year to be in the range of $334 million to $338 million compared to $336.6 million in fiscal year 2018. The projected total revenue for fiscal 2019 includes fourth quarter total revenue that is expected to be flat to slightly positive reflecting growth in December and continuing momentum in the final month of the period. The Company believes that it has benefitted from its gift giving programs including stronger gift card sales leading to higher redemption rates post-holiday; it also expects to deliver its ninth consecutive quarter of double-digit eCommerce growth;
• Pre-tax income to be in the range of $0.1 million to $2.0 million compared to a pre-tax loss of $18.5 million in fiscal year 2018; and
• Cash and cash equivalents to end the year in the range of $25 million to $30 million compared to $17.8 million at the end of fiscal 2018; the Company is projected to have no borrowings under its revolving credit facility at year-end.

Sharon Price John, Build-A-Bear Workshop Chief Executive Officer commented, “We are pleased to have seen a positive shift in sales trend as the fourth quarter progressed leading into the peak holiday period and sales have continued to grow post-holiday with stronger gift card redemption levels and positive consumer response to our newest merchandise offerings leading us to increase our guidance for the year. In addition to the improvement in our retail store base, we are also pleased with the continuing progress in our eCommerce segment which we expect to deliver a ninth consecutive quarter of double digit growth, a pattern than has been consistent since we implemented an upgrade to our platform in 2017. While we expect traditional retail to remain challenging on a macro basis, we believe that our projected results for 2019 demonstrate the long-term viability of our strategic plan to diversify our retail portfolio, leverage consumer affinity and demand for our strong brand and advance key initiatives that we expect to further evolve our business model into margin-accretive revenue streams.”