Bath & Body Works beats quarterly estimates on strong demand for 'affordable luxury'
May 27 (Reuters) - Bath & Body Works beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter sales and profit on Wednesday, helped by strong demand for its scented candles and personal care products, sending its shares up 14% in premarket trading.
• Despite broader consumer softness, demand for Bath & Body Works' products has remained resilient, as shoppers gravitate toward affordable indulgences such as home fragrances and self-care items — a modest "lipstick effect" that has helped support its core categories.
• Since February, the company began selling its products through Amazon as it looks to capture demand for "affordable luxury" from affluent young customers.
• Bath & Body Works posted first-quarter sales of $1.38 billion, beating estimates of $1.36 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
• It logged an adjusted profit of 32 cents per share for the quarter ended May 2, above estimates of 29 cents per share.
• The Ohio-based company maintained its full-year forecasts for net sales and adjusted profit.
• The company also said Eva Boratto will step down from her role as chief financial officer, with Tom Javitch set to take over as interim CFO, effective June 12.
• Boratto, has been appointed as the chief financial officer for drug distributor Cencora .
(Reporting by Koyena Das in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed and Diti Pujara)