Fossil Group Soars 15% On 3Q Results And $1 Billion Buyback Plan

Fossil Group, Inc. FOSL reported its financial results Tuesday for the third quarter ended October 4, 2014.

Third quarter net sales increased 10 percent from the year-ago quarter to $894 Million, above estimates of $879.05 million.

The Company reported net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2014 of $103.7 million, or $1.96 per diluted share, beating estimates of $1.82 and above the $89.7 million or $1.58 per diluted share reported for the third quarter of fiscal 2013.

The increase in diluted earnings per share resulted from operating income growth driven by increased sales and the benefit of a lower share base.

On November 10, 2014, the board of directors authorized a new $1 billion share repurchase program, which will expire in December 2018.

Kosta Kartsotis, Chief Executive Officer, commented on the results. "The third quarter marked another strong period for our company. We reported better-than-expected top and bottom line results, advanced many of the strategic initiatives that we expect will continue our favorable performance in the future and returned value to shareholders by capitalizing on our strong balance sheet and executing our share repurchase program.”

For the forth quarter of 2014 the company expected net sales to increase approximately 3 percent to 6 percent, which includes an estimated negative 250 basis point growth rate impact due to foreign currency translation. Operating margin was expected in a range of 19.8 percent to 21.3 percent and diluted earnings per share in a range of $2.91 to $3.21.

Fossil Group, Inc. traded at $119.40 in the aftermarket, up 15.08 percent.