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USA:Polo doubles income in Q3 backed by strong sales |
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2005-2-4
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Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. a branded apparel maker said Wednesday earnings more than doubled in the third quarter with a boost from sharply higher wholesale business and improved retail sales.
Polo also raised its projected earnings for 2005, but forecast less growth in net income for the fourth quarter ending in March because of a shorter reporting period. However, its shares fell 40 cents to $38.55 during premarket activity on the New York Stock Exchange.
In this quarter, net income was $74.8 million, or 72 cents per share, up from $35.4 million, or 35 cents, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time items, adjusted earnings were $74.7 million, or 72 cents per share.
Net revenue in the third quarter was $888 million, a gain of 38 percent from $645.4 million a year earlier, boosted by higher wholesale business and growth in retail sales.
Polo''s results were on target with the mean earnings estimate of 72 cents per share, but beat views for $835 million in revenue from analysts polled by Thomson First Call.
Combined sales at stores open at least a year rose 6.1 percent, with same-store results up 3.4 percent at Ralph Lauren stores, 6.7 percent at Club Monaco and 7.2 percent at its outlet shops, the company reported.
Polo expects a mid-single digit increase in fourth-quarter revenue, but expects a small gain in net income because the current period is one week shorter than the prior year. Earnings per share are expected to be flat due to an increased number of shares outstanding in this year''s quarter.
Analysts currently expect quarterly income of 84 cents per share on $850 million in sales, compared with last year''s profit of 79 cents per share and $819 million in sales. For the year, analysts see income of $2.46 per share and revenue of $3.16 billion.
In fiscal 2004, Polo earned $1.82 per share and logged sales of $2.65 billion. |
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