Toys R US Q1 results
by Jolex Del Pilar

Monday, May 17 2004

Company reports drop in sales from previous year.

Toys R US, Inc. has released financial results from the first quarter of its 2004 fiscal year.

In the three months ending May 1, 2004, the company reported total sales of $2.06 billion, a 2.6 drop from the $2.11 billion in the first quarter of its 2003 fiscal year. The retailer’s first quarter net loss also widened, to $28.0 million ($0.13 per share) in the just-completed quarter, versus a net loss of $26.0 million ($0.12 per share) in the same period one year earlier.

In its U.S. Toy Store division, comparable toy store sales dropped 5.6 percent, while videogame sales, which were “responsible for most of the decline” in the quarter dropped 27.0 percent from a year ago.

Toysrus.com had first quarter sales of $53.0 million, down from the $57.0 million it had one year earlier.

John Eyler, chairman and CEO of Toys R Us, commented, "Our first quarter sales performance was challenging in both the toy and video game businesses. The liquidation of inventories of several competitors contributed to lower than planned toy sales in the first quarter. We effectively improved margins and controlled expenses and inventory levels during the quarter to offset most of the impact of the sales decline in our toy and video game businesses.”

--- Jolex Del Pilar