J.Jill, Inc. Utilizes Strong Cash Position to Pay Down Debt and Initiate a Quarterly Dividend

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 company’s 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 Company’s 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 53^rd 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 Company’s financial reporting processes and do not represent a comprehensive statement of our financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2024.