Ads
By
Reuters
Published
May 26, 2011
Reading time
2 minutes
Download
Download the article
Print
Text size

Guess Q1 beats on strong Europe, Asia sales

By
Reuters
Published
May 26, 2011

U.S. retailer Guess Inc posted a quarterly profit that exceeded market expectations on strong growth in Europe and Asia, sending its shares up about 13 percent after the bell.

Guess
Guess 2011 campaign

The company, which typically issues a conservative profit outlook, expects second-quarter earnings of 77-83 cents a share on revenue of $645-$660 million.

Analysts are expecting earnings of 79 cents on revenue of $650.48 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company, best known for its jeans, plans to selectively raise prices across categories like basic denims and dresses to offset pressure from rising raw materials cost, it said on a conference call with analysts.

"Our entire industry is experiencing rising commodity and input costs and there remains uncertainty in many economies," Chief Executive Paul Marciano said in a statement.

However, sales across all its geographies rose in the first quarter. Revenue in Europe rose 12 percent, while Asia revenue surged 24 percent. The two regions together contribute about 45 percent to total revenue.

Guess, which competes with Levi Strauss & Co, VF Corp (VFC.N) and True Religion (TRLG.O) among others, plans to continue investing in Asia and Europe.

It plans to open 81-86 stores through the year in Europe, which is stabilizing after the financial crisis. In Asian markets like Korea and China, it plans to open 56 stores this year.

Same-store sales at Guess' North American stores, which make up about 42 percent of company-wide sales, grew 5 percent during the quarter.

"The company is seeing improving trends in the North America Retail business, especially in many of the women's categories," Wedbush analyst Betty Chen said, adding that the company is also benefitting from unpenetrated markets like France and Germany.

The company reported first-quarter earnings of 46 cents a share, compared with analysts' expectations of 44 cents per share.

Guess shares were trading at $45.15 after the bell. They closed at $40.10 on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Arpita Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Roshni Menon)

© Thomson Reuters 2024 All rights reserved.