Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) posted a deeper-than-expected third quarter loss and said it's exploring "multiple paths" in its turn around strategy after the struggling home retailer previously warning it's at risk of bankruptcy.
Bed Bath & Beyond said its adjusted loss for the three months ending on November 27 was pegged at $3.65 per share, or $393 million, a figure that was modestly steeper than the pre-announced tally of $386 million from last week. Revenues fell 32.9% from last year to $1.26 billion, the company said.
The group said it's on track for costs savings in the region of $250 million over the second half of its fiscal year, including the closures of around 150 stores, as part of the ongoing turnaround first unveiled in the early autumn.
"We are implementing our plan expeditiously while managing our financial position in a changing landscape," said CEO Sue Gove. "Our organization is more streamlined and we have adopted a more focused infrastructure that reflects our current business."
"As we shared last week, we continue to work with advisors as we consider all strategic alternatives to accomplish our near- and long-term goals," Gove added "Multiple paths are being explored and we are determining our next steps thoroughly, and in a timely manner. We are committed to updating all stakeholders on our plans as they develop and finalize – particularly our employees and partners, who are the essential catalysts of our business and the cornerstones of our future."
Bed Bath & Beyond shares, which surged nearly 24% yesterday, were marked 16% higher in early trading Tuesday to change hands at $1.88 each.
Bed Bath & Beyond said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last week that it's exploring a host of strategic alternatives, including a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, as it forecast a steeper-than-expected third quarter loss.
Last September, Bed Bath & Beyond's former recently-appointed CFO, Gustavo Arnal, fell to his death from a high floor of a Manhattan skyscraper known as the Jenga Tower in what the New York City Medical Examiner's office ultimately deemed a suicide.
Arnal, 52, joined Bed, Bath & Beyond in 2020, following stints with Procter & Gamble PG and Avon, and was named in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that alleged he had regulated the sale of Bed, Bath & Beyond stock for company executives, and conspired to keep prices inflated.
Just days earlier, Bed Bath & Beyond said it planed to raise an undisclosed amount of capital from the sale of common stock as it moves to capitalize on a 140% surge in the company's share price over the month of August while adding to its thinning overall liquidity.
Securities & Exchange Commission filings suggest Arnal sold around 55,000 shares between August 16 and August 17, just one day before activist investor Ryan Cohen's first sale of 5 million shares was made public on August 18. The stock then fell 40.5% on August 19.
