established and developed continue to build. We have leveraged
our infrastructure and our expertise across brands, and developed
synergies through our shared services group. This model allows
each of our brands to focus on driving its business to deliver great
fashion, exceptional value and a memorable customer experience.
The effectiveness of this core structure has been affirmed through
sustained operating performance improvement and has allowed us to
position ourselves for ongoing growth opportunities.
of milestones in 2012. The most notable of our successes this year
was our merger with Charming Shoppes, Inc. This combination of
two families of exceptional retail brands strengthens and furthers
our continuing vision to serve our shareholders and create value by
becoming a family of leading retail concepts with $10 billion in sales
and top-tier profitability.
from continuing operations improved by 1% to $171.8 million, or
$1.08 per share on a diluted basis. This includes Charming Shoppes'
results from continuing operations as of the merger date of June
14, 2012. Our corporate structure and shared services processes
have provided synergies and leverage. The consolidation of the IT
organization and data centers as well as the consolidated outsourcing
of payroll and HRIS that took place last year have positioned us
well to manage this integration. The shift to a consolidated shared
services organization has allowed our legacy brands to remain
focused on driving their business results while integrating the
this new direction has positively impacted our performance, with
our company again delivering strong consolidated comparable sales
growth of 5%. Comparable stores sales results by brand for fiscal
year 2012 included increases of 8% at
financial results for the full fiscal year, comparable stores sales
results for the trailing twelve months included increases of 1% at
Lane Bryant and 3% at Catherines.
results, and rose by 17% during the year. Comparing our
performance in the long-term to our retail peer group, our annual
return has ranked as the #1 performing stock on an average 10-year
split, our Company's sixth stock split since our 1983 initial public
offering. This endorses our belief in the long-term strategy of our
Company and underscores our ongoing commitment to enhancing
shareholder value.
strategic initiatives in fiscal 2012. Through ready access to a substantial
amount of cash, we were able to fund our $900 million merger with
Charming Shoppes through cash, investments and debt of only $320
million under our term loan and revolving credit facilities. We continued
acting upon our share repurchase program prior to the merger, and
repurchased 2.7 million shares in fiscal 2012, bringing total repurchases
over the last three fiscal years to 10.8 million shares. We also invested
in the future of our business, including our retail store expansion and
investments in our facilities and technological infrastructure. We will
continue to manage our business and our balance sheet in order to
maintain financial strength and flexibility for future growth.
niche, with a culture that embraces the sharing of resources, new ideas
and the growth and development of talented team members. Over
the past few years, we have welcomed into that family strong brands
and new team members while continuing to deliver very attractive
returns to shareholders. We believe that Charming Shoppes will be
no exception and that we have the opportunity to fully realize the
tremendous potential of the
improved profitability opportunity. Assured by our disciplined approach
and success with previous consolidations, we are well-positioned to
smoothly integrate this acquisition, supported by our growing shared
services model.
position by providing great fashion at great value.