Macy's, Inc. (Macy's, Inc. (NYSE:M)) said its third-quarter earnings release will be delayed after an employee was found to have hidden more than $132mn of delivery expenses since late 2021.
The retailer was due to report its results on Tuesday, but during the preparation of the numbers it "identified an issue related to delivery expenses" and initiated an investigation.
Independent analysis found that an "employee with responsibility for small package delivery expense accounting intentionally made erroneous accounting accrual entries to hide approximately $132 to $154 million of cumulative delivery expenses from the fourth quarter of 2021 through fiscal quarter ended November 2, 2024".
During this same time, the Bloomingdale’s owner recognized approximately $4.36 billion of delivery expenses, it noted, but said there was no indication that these false entries had any impact on the company’s cash management activities or vendor payments.
"The individual who engaged in this conduct is no longer employed by the company," Macy's said, adding that the investigation has not identified involvement by any other employee.
The company shared some preliminary numbers from its third-quarter, including a fall of 2.4% in net sales, with comparable sales down 2.4%.
Its core 'first 50' 50 locations delivered comparable sales growth of 1.9%, while Bloomingdale’s reported comparable sales growth of owned stores of 1.0%, and its Bluemercury arm reported comparable sales growth of 3.3%.
To allow for completion of the independent investigation, the company expects to report its full third quarter 2024 financial results by December 11.
CEO Tony Spring said: “At Macy’s, Inc., we promote a culture of ethical conduct. While we work diligently to complete the investigation as soon as practicable and ensure this matter is handled appropriately, our colleagues across the company are focused on serving our customers and executing our strategy for a successful holiday season."