By Erin McCarthy
L Brands Inc. (LB) boosted its outlook for fiscal first-quarter
earnings Thursday and said sales have increased in recent
weeks.
The company, formerly called Limited Brands Inc., now expects to
report earnings for the quarter ended May 3 of 50 cents to 52 cents
a share, up from its previous estimate of 44 cents to 49 cents a
share. The company said it will update its full-year earnings
guidance on May 21.
The retailer, which operates the Victoria's Secret and Bath
& Body Works chains, also said net sales increased 5% to $2.39
billion for the quarter, topping the $2.38 billion expected by
analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
Same-store sales edged up 2% for the same period.
Meanwhile, for the four weeks ended May 3, same-store sales
increased 8%, easily beating the 4.3% consensus estimate.
Write to Erin McCarthy at erin.mccarthy@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires