By Anna Prior
L Brands Inc. (LB) lifted its earnings guidance for the fiscal
fourth quarter as the retailer reported same-store sales for
January that easily topped expectations.
The retailer, which operates the Victoria's Secret and Bath
& Body Works chains, dominates the intimate-apparel and
personal-care markets, though growth for the company's major store
formats in the first half of the latest fiscal year slowed from
year-earlier levels.
The company, formerly called Limited Brands Inc., now expects
earnings slightly above its previous guidance of $1.60 a share for
the quarter ended Feb. 1.
L Brands in January had cut its view from November's downbeat
projection of $1.67 to $1.82 a share. Net sales for the quarter
came in at $3.82 billion, just missing the consensus view of $3.89
billion.
L Brands also reported same-store sales for January that topped
expectations, with a rise of 9% versus the consensus of 0.5%. The
growth was led by a 10% jump in same-store sales for Victoria's
Secret--expectations were for a 0.5% increase.
Shares, which ended Wednesday at $51.79, were inactive
premarket. Through the close, the stock has risen 9.6% in the last
12 months.
Write to Anna Prior at anna.prior@wsj.com
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