Earnings Up 24% at Victoria's Secret Parent L Brands
November 18 2015 - 4:50PM
Dow Jones News
By Anne Steele And Tess Stynes
L Brands Inc., the parent company of Victoria's Secret and Bath
& Body Works, again raised its per-share earnings guidance for
the year as it reported that profit rose 24% in the three months
ended in October.
For the year ending in January, the company now expects
per-share earnings of $3.69 to $3.79, compared with its recently
increased estimate for per-share profit of $3.58 to $3.73.
However, for the holiday quarter, L Brands forecast per-share
earnings of $1.85 to $1.95, below estimates of analysts polled by
Thomson Reuters for per-share profit of $1.98.
The Ohio-based company has been a relative bright spot in a
retail industry that has faced challenges from a highly promotional
environment. For L Brands, well-managed inventories have helped the
retailer avoid the markdowns that have plagued many peers.
For the quarter ended Oct. 31, the retailer's gross margin rose
to 41.6% from 40.8%.
Overall, L Brands reported a profit of $164 million, up from
$131.8 million a year earlier. Per-share earnings rose to 55 cents
from 44 cents. The company earlier this month said it expected to
make 51 cents to 53 cents a share, compared with its earlier view
of 40 cents to 45 cents a share.
Revenue rose 7% to $2.48 billion. Analysts were looking for
$2.49 billion.
Sales at stores open at least a year increased by 7%. At
Victoria's Secret, which generates the bulk of the company's
revenue, sales at established stores grew 7%, while sales at Bath
& Body Works improved 6%.
Shares of the company rose 0.8% to $92.95 in after-hours
trading.
Write to Anne Steele at Anne.Steele@wsj.com and Tess Stynes at
tess.stynes@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 18, 2015 17:35 ET (22:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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