Movado Group Q1 Profit Misses Views

Movado Group, Inc (NYSE: MOV) reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the fiscal first quarter on Wednesday.The Paramus, New Jersey-based company posted a quarterly profit of $3.6 million, or $0.15 per share, down from $7.4 million, or $0.29 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding non-recurring items, the company earned $0.25 per share.Its revenue slipped 0.3 percent year-over-year to $120.5 million. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.26 per share on revenue of $119.55 million.The average estimate among 6 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.26 per share and revenue of $119.10 million.Its gross profit slipped to $62.4 million, or 51.8 percent of sales, versus $65.2 million, or 53.9 percent of sales, in the year-ago quarter.Operating income declined to $6.9 million from $10.9 million, while operating expenses increased to $55.6 million from $54.2 million.During the first quarter, Movado repurchased around 860,000 shares.Efraim Grinberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "I am pleased with our start to the year as we generated increased net sales in constant currency and solid earnings that we believe have us on track to achieve our annual goals. During the quarter, we continued to focus on new product introductions and developing our brands globally, which led to over a 6% increase in international wholesale sales on a constant currency basis and a 5% increase in the U.S. wholesale business."The company reaffirmed its outlook for FY16. For the full year, Movado projects earnings of $2 to $2.10 per share, on revenue of $590 million to $600 million.Movado shares fell 0.36 percent to $27.50 in pre-market trading.