US-based kitchenware and home furnishings retailer Williams-Sonoma has posted net earnings of $201.5m for the second quarter of 2023, down 24.6% from $267.1m a year ago.

Net revenues for the quarter were $1.86bn, down 12.9% from $2.13bn in the second quarter of 2022.

For the 13-week to 30 July 2023, the retailer’s comparable brand revenue declined 11.9% against a growth of 11.3% in the same period a year ago.

Its costs of goods sold during the period were $1.10bn as against $1.21bn a year ago.

During the period under review, gross profit declined to $757.56m from $928.81m in the second quarter of last year.

The retailer’s operating income declined to $271.54m from $365.52m in the prior year quarter.

Its earnings per diluted share (EPS) also declined to $3.12 from $3.87 a year ago.

Williams-Sonoma said its merchandise inventories declined 16% to $1.3bn from $1.54bn in the second quarter of last year.

Commenting on the performance, Williams-Sonoma president and CEO Laura Alber said: “We are pleased to deliver another quarter of strong earnings. We significantly exceeded profitability estimates with an operating margin of 14.6% with earnings per share of $3.12, well above our pre-pandemic results.

“Our sales ran -11.9% in Q2, but our 2-year comp was essentially flat and our 4-year comp to 2019 was +39.7%. We achieved these results against an increasingly promotional environment and softening industry metrics by focusing on regular price selling, driving improved customer service and controlling costs.”

In response to the results, Williams-Sonoma updated its outlook for fiscal year 2023. It is now expecting its net revenue to decline from 5% to 10%, with the operating margin expected to be between 15% and 16%.