Guess?'s (GES) Q4 Results Mostly Inline, Guidance Weighs
The retailer saw revenue for the quarter ended January 28th, 2012 rise 3 percent from $756.92 million during the same quarter last year to $775.84 million. Analysts on the Street had been expecting sales of $778.5 million.
Sales to Guess?'s Asia unit jumped more than 27 percent to $70.6 million, sales to the North American unit were up more than 1 percent to $343.5 million, and revenue within Europe fell approximately 1 percent to $290.8 million. Same-store sales in North America fell 5 percent.
Net income fell about 7 percent from $103.33 million during the year-ago quarter to $95.87 million. On a per-share basis, profit was down 5 percent to $1.05. The Street was anticipating EPS of $1.05.
Paul Marciano, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are pleased to deliver fourth quarter earnings consistent with our expectations, even as economic pressures impacted consumer confidence in some of our markets. These results mark the end of a year in which we made significant progress on important initiatives that support our long-term objectives. We leveraged the global momentum of the Guess? brand, opening 261 new stores during the year, and increased revenues in all segments. We reached the $1 billion revenue mark in Europe for the first time and gained significant traction in Northern and Eastern Europe, where we are developing a strong market presence. South Korea and China continued their double digit growth and in North America, we succeeded in elevating the Guess brand, which drove significant profit improvements in that region."
Guess? managers are looking for first-quarter earnings of 25-28 cents per share on sales of $560-$575 million. The Street is currently expecting quarterly earnings of 48 cents per share on sales of $609.7 million.
For FY13, Guess? is modeling for earnings of $2.50-$2.65 per share, well below the analyst consensus estimate of $3.07.