Guess? makes substantial progress toward many objectives

17 Mar '11

5 min read

Guess? Inc reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended January 29, 2011.

Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2011 Highlights

• Global revenue increased 18% to a record of $757 million
• Operating earnings increased 20%; operating margin improved from 18.8% to 19.1%
• European revenue increased 43% in local currency and 32% in US dollars
• Asian revenue increased 23%
• North American revenue increased 8%; retail comp sales declined 1.1%

Fiscal Year 2011 Highlights

• Global revenue increased 17% to a record of $2.5 billion
• Operating earnings increased 13%; operating margin decreased from 16.9% to 16.3%
• European revenue increased 31% in local currency and 23% in US dollars
• Asian revenue increased 36%
• North American revenue increased 10%; retail comp sales increased 2.9%
• Dividend distributions totaled $247 million

Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2011 Results

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011, the Company reported record net earnings of $103.3 million, a 19.3% increase compared to net earnings of $86.6 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010. Diluted earnings per share increased 19.4%, reaching $1.11, compared to $0.93 for the prior-year quarter. In the quarter, the Company completed an assessment of North American loyalty program breakage, which resulted in a one-time benefit to revenues of $6.7 million, or $0.05 per share.

Paul Marciano, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "This has been another successful year of record results where we made substantial progress toward many important objectives. We increased annual revenues in each of our businesses, which combined to drive double-digit revenue growth and a 19% increase in earnings per share.

"Our focus on international expansion continues to pay off, with Europe and Asia contributing nearly two-thirds of our annual revenue increase. We leveraged the tremendous global momentum of the Guess? brand, opening 237 new stores during the year. And we strengthened our infrastructure to support our future growth around the world."

Mr. Marciano continued, "We enter the new fiscal year excited and well positioned to execute on our long-term global strategies. Our focus continues to be on our brand and on great products that resonate with our customers worldwide. We are excited about the innovative and compelling new product designs and styles that our team has been working on for the upcoming seasons.

“We also continue to build our operational platform, developing a world class infrastructure that can support our global expansion. Our goal is to develop many strategic markets where our brand awareness is high, but we need additional distribution and infrastructure support. These strategies, bolstered by our strong financial position, will drive us to deliver shareholder value by leveraging the full potential of the Guess? brand worldwide."

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