Guess? Q4 Profit Beats Expectations, Shares Jump

Shares of Guess?, Inc.

jumped over 10 percent in after-hours trading after the company reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter. The Los Angeles, California-based company posted quarterly earnings of $53.9 million, or $0.63 per share, compared to $69.3 million, or $0.82 per share, in the year-ago period. Its total net revenue dropped 9.3 percent to $696.7 million from $768.4 million, while revenue in constant currency fell 4.1 percent. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.57 per share on revenue of $704.59 million. North American retail revenue slipped 4 percent in the quarter, while European revenue declined 16.1 percent to $240.9 million. Asian revenue fell 9.1 percent to $75.4 million. North American wholesale revenue slipped 10.2 percent to $36.6 million, while licensing segment net revenue dropped 5.8 percent to $26.8 million in the fourth quarter. Paul Marciano, Chief Executive Officer said, "Turning to the outlook for fiscal year 2016, currencies will definitely be a headwind if they stay at current levels. But, as always, we will remain focused on what we can control, like our North America real estate realignment, providing a unique customer experience within our stores, and tightly managing our costs and inventory levels. We will continue investing in our omni-channel strategy globally and expect it to be a growth vehicle for fiscal 2016." Guess? expects Q1 loss of $0.06 to $0.03 per share. Analysts had projected a loss of $0.03 per share. The company projects FY earnings of $0.75 to $0.95 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $1.04 per share. Guess? shares climbed 10.51 percent to $18.50 in the after-hours trading session.