• Comparable club sales, excluding gasoline sales, increased by 15.9%, including digitally enabled sales growth of 168%, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020.
• Income from continuing operations increased 127.3% year-over-year to $95.9 million, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020.
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 36.1% year-over-year to $204.5 million, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020.
• Earnings per diluted share of $0.69 reflect 130.0% year-over-year growth.
• Adjusted earnings per diluted share of $0.70 reflects 75.0% year-over-year growth.
• Net cash provided by operating activities was $ 868.5 million and free cash flow was $ 676.1 million, for fiscal 2020.

WESTBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BJ) (the "Company") today announced its financial results for the thirteen and fifty-two weeks ended January 30, 2021.

"2020 was a remarkable, transformative and challenging year that structurally changed our business for the better. While the unique circumstances brought on by the pandemic provided tailwinds, our industry-leading results and significant market share gains demonstrate the strength of our execution in these challenging times. We made substantial strategic progress including delivering record membership results, optimizing merchandising, expanding our digital offerings, accelerating our geographic expansion and enhancing our balance sheet," said Lee Delaney, President and Chief Executive Officer, BJ’s Wholesale Club. “As we look ahead, we are confident our business will continue to thrive over the long-term given structural shifts in consumer behavior, the progress we made over the last year and our continued investments.”

Key Measures for the Thirteen Weeks Ended January 30, 2021 (Fourth Quarter of Fiscal 2020) and for the Fifty-Two Weeks Ended January 30, 2021(Fiscal 2020):

Additional Highlights:

• Comparable club sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 increased 13.0%, compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. Comparable club sales, excluding the impact of gasoline sales, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 increased 15.9% compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. Comparable club sales for fiscal 2020 increased 15.9%, compared to fiscal 2019. Comparable club sales, excluding the impact of gasoline sales, for fiscal 2020 increased 21.3% compared to fiscal 2019.
• Gross profit increased to $742.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 from $622.2 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. Merchandise gross margin rate, which excludes gasoline sales and membership fee income, increased approximately 50 basis points over the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. Continued execution of our category profitability improvement initiative was offset by costs associated with the coronavirus pandemic. Gross profit increased to $2,979.0 million in fiscal 2020 from $2,426.8 million in fiscal 2019. Merchandise gross margin rate increased approximately 10 basis points over fiscal year 2019. While merchandise margins benefited from strong sales performance and continued execution of our category profitability improvement initiatives, these drivers were offset by costs associated with the coronavirus pandemic, cost inflation in certain commodities and the decline in our higher-margin apparel business.
• Selling, general and administrative expenses ("SG&A") increased to $593.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, compared to $536.0 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. The year-over-year increase in SG&A expense was primarily driven by costs associated with the coronavirus pandemic, including wage increases, bonuses, safety and protective equipment and other operational costs, such as security. SG&A included charges associated with club closing and impairment charges, gains on sale leaseback transactions, and severance costs that, in the aggregate and as applicable, increased SG&A by $16.8 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. SG&A increased to $2,326.8 million in fiscal 2020, compared to $2,059.4 million in fiscal 2019. SG&A included charges associated with offering costs, club closing and impairment charges, gains on sale leaseback transactions, and severance costs that, in the aggregate and as applicable, increased SG&A by $18.7 million for fiscal 2019.
• Operating income increased to $144.7 million, or 3.7% of total revenues in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, compared to $81.8 million, or 2.4% of total revenues in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. Operating income in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 included charges associated with club closing and impairment charges, gains on sales leaseback transactions, and severance costs that, in the aggregate and as applicable, reduced operating income by $16.8 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. Operating income increased to $642.4 million, or 4.2% of total revenues in fiscal 2020, compared to $352.2 million, or 2.7% of total revenues in fiscal 2019. Operating income in fiscal 2019 included charges associated with offering costs, club closing and impairment charges, gains on sales leaseback transactions, and severance costs that, in the aggregate and as applicable, reduced operating income by $18.7 million for fiscal 2019.
• Interest expense, net, decreased to $15.9 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, compared to $26.0 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. Interest expense in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 included $1.8 million write-off of accumulated other comprehensive income associated with the de-designation of one of our swap agreements. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019, the Company repriced its first lien term loan facility (the "First Lien Term Loan") and reduced its rate by fifty basis points to LIBOR plus 2.25%. The repricing of the First Lien Term Loan allowed the Company to reduce its rate to LIBOR plus 2.00% upon the achievement of certain debt ratings upgrades, which were achieved in July, 2020. Interest expense in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 included $1.8 million of fees and write-off of deferred financing fees associated with the repricing of the First Lien Term Loan. The decrease in interest expense was driven by continued de-levering. Interest expense, net, decreased to $84.4 million in fiscal 2020, compared to $108.2 million in fiscal 2019. Interest expense in fiscal 2020 included $4.1 million write-off of deferred fees and the original issue discount associated with the partial paydown of our First Lien Term Loan in July and October 2020 and $6.9 million write-off of accumulated other comprehensive income associated with the de-designation of one of our swap agreements. Interest expense in fiscal 2019 included $3.8 million of fees and write off of deferred fees and original issue discounts associated with the partial paydown and repricing of the First Lien Term Loan.
• Income tax expense was $32.9 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, compared to income tax expense of $13.7 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. The fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 included a benefit of $1.0 million from excess tax benefits related to stock-based compensation compared to $0.4 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. Income tax expense was $136.8 million in fiscal 2020, compared to income tax expense of $56.2 million in fiscal 2019. Fiscal 2020 included a benefit of $11.4 million from excess tax benefits related to stock-based compensation compared to $8.8 million in fiscal 2019.
• Under our share repurchase program, we repurchased 0.3 million shares of common stock, totaling $11.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020. In fiscal 2020, we repurchased 2.6 million shares of common stock, totaling $99.7 million, under such program.

Fiscal 2021 Ending February 1, 2022 Outlook

"Given the level of uncertainty associated with the evolution of the pandemic, member behavior and government stimulus, fiscal 2021 remains difficult to forecast," said Robert W. Eddy, Chief Administrative and Financial Officer, BJ's Wholesale Club. "As a result, we will continue to refrain from offering formal detailed guidance."

Conference Call Details

A conference call to discuss the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 financial results is scheduled for today, March 4, 2021, at 8:30 A.M. Eastern Time. Investors and analysts interested in participating in the call are invited to dial 877-274-0290 (international callers please dial 647-689-5405) approximately 10 minutes prior to the start of the call and reference conference ID 1090677. A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available online at https://investors.bjs.com.

A recorded replay of the conference call will be available within two hours of the conclusion of the call and can be accessed both online at https://investors.bjs.com and by dialing 416-621-4642 and entering the access code 1090677. The recorded replay will be available until March 12, 2021 and an online archive of the webcast will be available for one year.

About BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc.

Headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. is a leading operator of membership warehouse clubs in the Eastern United States. The company currently operates 221 clubs and 151 BJ's Gas® locations in 17 states.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We refer to certain financial measures that are not recognized under United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). Please see “Note Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Information" and “Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Information” below for additional information and a reconciliation of the Non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures.

Note Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Information

This press release includes financial measures that are not calculated in accordance with GAAP, including adjusted net income, adjusted net income per diluted share, adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow, net debt and net debt to LTM adjusted EBITDA.

We define adjusted net income as net income attributable to common stockholders adjusted for: offering costs; club closing and impairment charges; reduction in force severance; gain on sale leaseback transactions; charges related to debt restructurings and retirements; loss on cash flow hedge; and the tax impact of the foregoing adjustments on net income.

We define adjusted net income per diluted share as adjusted net income divided by the weighted-average diluted shares outstanding.

We define adjusted EBITDA as income from continuing operations before interest expense, net, provision for income taxes and depreciation and amortization, adjusted for the impact of certain other items, including: stock-based compensation expense; pre-opening expenses; non-cash rent; strategic consulting; offering costs; club closing and impairment charges; reduction in force severance and other adjustments.

We define free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities less additions to property and equipment, net of disposals, plus proceeds from sale leaseback transactions.

We define net debt as total debt outstanding less cash and cash equivalents.

We define net debt to LTM adjusted EBITDA as net debt at the balance sheet date divided by adjusted EBITDA for the trailing twelve-month period.

We present adjusted net income, adjusted net income per diluted share and adjusted EBITDA, which are not recognized financial measures under GAAP, because we believe such measures assists investors and analysts in comparing our operating performance across reporting periods on a consistent basis by excluding items that we do not believe are indicative of our core operating performance. In addition, adjusted EBITDA excludes pre-opening expenses, because we do not believe these expenses are indicative of the underlying operating performance of our stores. The amount and timing of pre-opening expenses are dependent on, among other things, the size of new stores opened and the number of new stores opened during any given period.

Management believes that adjusted net income, adjusted net income per diluted share and adjusted EBITDA are helpful in highlighting trends in our core operating performance compared to other measures, which can differ significantly depending on long-term strategic decisions regarding capital structure, the tax jurisdictions in which companies operate and capital investments. We use adjusted net income, adjusted net income per diluted share and adjusted EBITDA to supplement GAAP measures of performance in the evaluation of the effectiveness of our business strategies; to make budgeting decisions; and to compare our performance against that of other peer companies using similar measures. We also use adjusted EBITDA in connection with establishing discretionary annual incentive compensation.

We present free cash flow, which is not a recognized financial measure under GAAP, because we use it to report to our Board of Directors and we believe it assists investors and analysts in evaluating our liquidity. Free cash flow should not be considered as an alternative to cash flows from operations as a liquidity measure. We present net debt and net debt to LTM adjusted EBITDA, which are not recognized as financial measures under GAAP, because we use them to report to our Board of Directors and we believe they assist investors and analysts in evaluating our borrowing capacity. Net debt to LTM adjusted EBITDA is a key financial measure that is used by management to assess the borrowing capacity of the Company.

You are encouraged to evaluate these adjustments and the reasons we consider them appropriate for supplemental analysis. In evaluating adjusted net income, adjusted net income per diluted share, adjusted EBITDA and net debt to LTM adjusted EBITDA, you should be aware that in the future we may incur expenses that are the same as or like some of the adjustments in our presentation of these metrics. Our presentation of adjusted net income, adjusted net income per diluted share, adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow, net debt and net debt to LTM adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as alternatives to any other measure derived in accordance with GAAP and they should not be construed as an inference that the Company’s future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items. There can be no assurance that we will not modify the presentation of adjusted net income, adjusted net income per diluted share, adjusted EBITDA or net debt to LTM adjusted EBITDA in the future, and any such modification may be material. In addition, adjusted net income, adjusted net income per diluted share, adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow, net debt and net debt to LTM adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies in our industry or across different industries. Additionally, adjusted net income, adjusted net income per diluted share, adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow, net debt and net debt to LTM adjusted EBITDA have limitations as analytical tools, and you should not consider them in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP.

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Information

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210304005122/en/

Investors: Faten Freiha, BJ's Wholesale Club (774) 512-6320 ffreiha@bjs.com Media: Jennie Hardin, BJ’s Wholesale Club (774) 512-6978 jhardin@bjs.com

Source: BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc.