Cliff Sifford, Shoe Carnival’s President and Chief Executive Officer commented: “Our sales results improved as we progressed through the first quarter, but it was not enough to offset the soft start we experienced at the beginning of the year with comparable store sales down mid-teens in February. We primarily attribute the decline in our February sales to the delay in tax refund checks. Most recently, we have generated improved sales and we are optimistic that our financial performance will improve as we progress through fiscal 2017.”

Comparable store sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2017 decreased by 3.9% as a result of a slower start to the fiscal year.

The company now expects fiscal year 2017 net sales to be in the range of 1.002 billion US dollars to 1.018 billion US dollars, with comparable store sales flat to down low single digits, and earnings per diluted share in the range of 1.30 US dollars to 1.45 US dollars. This compares to the company’s prior outlook for net sales of 1.028 billion US dollars to 1.040 billion US dollars, with comparable store sales flat to up low single digits and earnings per diluted share of 1.45 US dollars to 1.54 US dollars.