L Brands Inc. said Thursday that its June sales rose from the
previous year, but the increase was less than Wall Street had
expected.
The same-store-sales increase for the company's Victoria's
Secret brand was well below analysts' expectations. Its Bath &
Body Works brand's increase exceeded Wall Street projections.
For the five weeks ended July 4, sales rose to $1.21 billion
from $1.18 billion the previous year. Same-store sales grew 3%
overall.
Victoria's Secret same-store sales grew 1%, down from a 3%
increase the previous year. Bath & Body Works sales grew 6%, up
from a 1% increase the previous year.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected same-store sales to
climb 3.4% overall, including 3.6% at Victoria's Secret and 4.2% at
Bath & Body Works.
For the 22 weeks ended July 4, sales increased 4.3% to $4.52
billion.
The Columbus, Ohio-based retailer has been a relative bright
spot in an industry that has faced issues such as markdowns and an
explosion of online shopping in recent years. Since the beginning
of this year, L Brands repurchased $250 million of stock from
shareholders and authorized another $250 million buyback last
month. In February, the company raised its annual quarterly
dividend 47% to $2 a share and announced a special dividend of
another $2.
The company's shares were inactive premarket.
Write to Neil Haggerty at neil.haggerty@wsj.com
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