Womenswear brand J Jill has reported positive bottom-line growth with net income for the fourth quarter rising to $4.8 million from $1 million in the prior year.

Meanwhile, the company’s total net sales for the 14 weeks ended February 3 were up only 1.2 per cent to $149.4 million, despite an additional week of trading.

Total comparable sales, which includes comparable store and direct-to-consumer sales on a 13-week basis, fell 3.6 per cent. Direct-to-consumer net sales, which represented 51.2 per cent of total net sales, were up 4 per cent.

For the full year, total net sales were down 1.7 per cent to $604.7 million, while total company comparable sales dropped 1.4 per cent. Net income was $36.2 million compared to $42.2 million in the prior year.

The company opened two new stores and closed one location, ending the year with 244 stores.

President and CEO Claire Spofford said the results beat the company’s expectations, thanks to the “disciplined operating model” which supported healthy margins and strong cash generation.

“We successfully refinanced our debt, enhanced our omnichannel capabilities, delivered our first net new store opening year in over three years, and continued to identify and test new concepts within our assortment to drive growth,” Spofford continued.

For FY24, J Jill expects net sales to be flat to up in the low-single digits and adjusted EBITDA to be down in the mid-single digits.

“We will continue to execute our disciplined operating model while investing in both capital and operating expenses that we believe will support the initiatives in place to drive profitable sales growth,” added Spofford.