Tiffany profit falls short on weak demand in Americas, Hong Kong

By Aishwarya Venugopal

(Reuters) - Luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co (NYSE: TIF), which is being bought by Louis Vuitton owner LVMH , missed market expectations for quarterly profit and sales on Thursday, hit by lower spending by foreign tourists in the United States and Hong Kong.

The jeweler has been struggling to lure price-conscious millennials who have been preferring lower-priced competitors including Denmark's Pandora A/S and Signet Jewelers (NYSE: SIG).

Slowing growth in China, mainly due to its prolonged trade war with the United States and a stronger dollar, has also impacted sales for Tiffany, which relies on tourists from the world's second largest economy.

Net sales in the Americas fell 4% in the third quarter. In the Asia-Pacific region, sales did not grow despite a double-digit growth in mainland China because of business disruptions in Hong Kong.

The company said lower spending by foreign tourists in Hong Kong, where sales plunged 49%, offset increased demand by locals.

Overall same-store sales, excluding the effects of currency fluctuations, rose 1% in the quarter, but missed analysts' average estimate of a 1.44% increase, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

"Tiffany has significant potential, but it is still coming short of unlocking it. We see the LVMH acquisition with favor," Bernstein analyst Luca Solca said.

French luxury goods maker LVMH has agreed to buy Tiffany for $16.2 billion, a deal that could help the U.S. jeweler, whose dated collections has hit demand and forced it to launch more affordable pendants and earrings.

Tiffany's net earnings fell to $78.4 million, or 65 cents per share, in the quarter ended Oct. 31, from $94.9 million, or 77 cents per share, a year earlier. Wall Street had expected it to earn 85 cents per share.

Net sales were largely flat at $1.01 billion, while the average analyst estimate was $1.03 billion.

Shares of the company, which have risen about 66% this year, were down marginally at $133.55.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Arun Koyyur)

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