Exhibit 99.1
J.JILL, INC. UTILIZES STRONG CASH POSITION TO PAY DOWN DEBT AND INITIATE A QUARTERLY DIVIDEND
Provides First Quarter Fiscal 2024 Preliminary Results of Net Sales of About $160 million and Adjusted EBITDA* of Approximately
$33 million to $34 million
Quincy, MA May 14, 2024 J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) today announced that it
has completed a series of debt principal payments and that its Board of Directors has approved a new quarterly dividend program.
The total debt repaid
was $60.4 million which reduced the original $175 million term loan issued in April 2023 to $108 million. The $60.4 million was comprised of a required principal payment of $2.2 million on April 26, 2024, and a
voluntary prepayment of $58.2 million on May 10, 2024. The voluntary prepayment was in lieu of and incremental to the previously expected Excess Cash Flow payment of $26.6 million which was rejected by the lenders. Following the
voluntary prepayment on May 10, 2024, the companys cash balance was $28.2 million.
In addition, the Board of Directors declared an
initial quarterly cash dividend of $0.07 per share of the Companys common stock. The dividend is payable on June 12, 2024, to all stockholders of record as of May 29, 2024. The Company intends to pay dividends quarterly in
the future, subject to market conditions and approval by the Board of Directors.
Claire Spofford, President and Chief Executive Officer of J.Jill, Inc.
stated, We are pleased to be in a position to leverage the strong cash generation of the business to rapidly de-lever our balance sheet, reduce interest costs, and return capital directly to
shareholders. Through this balanced and disciplined approach to capital allocation, we are maintaining strong financial flexibility to continue to invest in our growth while demonstrating our commitment to driving total shareholder returns.
Q1 FY24 Preliminary Results
For the first quarter
of fiscal 2024, the Company expects net sales of about $160 million, an increase of 7% compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2023, and Adjusted EBITDA* of approximately $33 million to $34 million. These preliminary results include
the expected benefit from the calendar shift resulting from the 53rd week in fiscal 2023 and are better than prior guidance for the first quarter of fiscal 2024. The prior guidance expected net sales to increase in the low to mid-single digits compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2023 and for Adjusted EBITDA* to be in the range of $29.0 million to $33.0 million. These preliminary results are unaudited, subject to completion
of the Companys financial reporting processes and do not represent a comprehensive statement of our financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2024.
The Company will release its full financial results for the first quarter fiscal year 2024 before market open on Friday, June 7, 2024. Management will
host a conference call that day at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the financial results and its outlook in more detail.
Investors and analysts
interested in listening to the call are invited to dial (800) 715-9871 or (646) 307-1963 if calling internationally. Please dial in approximately 10 minutes prior to the
start of the call and reference Conference ID 7311773 when prompted. A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available online at http://investors.jjill.com/Investors-Relations/News-Events/events.
A taped replay of the conference call will be available approximately two hours following the call and can be accessed both online and by dialing (800) 770-2030 or (609) 800-9909. The pin number to access the telephone replay is 7311773. The telephone replay will be available until Friday, June 14, 2024.
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