COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) L Brands, Inc. (NYSE:LB) reported net sales of $1.040 billion for the five-week period ended Feb. 3, 2018, compared to sales of $805.2 million for the four-week period ended Jan. 28, 2017. The fifth week in January 2018 represented approximately $150 million in sales and $0.07 in earnings per share. The company reported comparable sales for the five weeks ended Feb. 3, 2018, increased 7 percent compared to the five weeks ended Feb. 4, 2017.
Net sales were $4.823 billion for the 14-week fourth quarter ended Feb. 3, 2018, compared to $4.489 billion for the 13 weeks ended Jan. 28, 2017. Comparable sales for the 14-week fourth quarter ended Feb. 3, 2018, increased 2 percent compared to the 14 weeks ended Feb. 4, 2017.
Net sales were $12.632 billion for the 53-week year ended Feb. 3, 2018, compared to $12.574 billion for the 52 weeks ended Jan. 28, 2017. Comparable sales for the 53 weeks ended Feb. 3, 2018, decreased 3 percent compared to the 53 weeks ended Feb. 4, 2017. For the 53 weeks ended Feb. 3, 2018, the exit of the swim and apparel categories had a negative impact of about 3 percentage points and 5 percentage points to total company and Victoria’s Secret comparable sales, respectively.
Before the effect of any significant items, including the impact of tax reform legislation, the company expects to report fourth quarter earnings per share of about $2.05, compared to its previous guidance of about $2.00. The increase versus the previous guidance relates to a lower projected tax rate of about 34 percent (which does not include any impact from tax reform legislation), compared to guidance of 36.5 percent.
To hear further commentary provided on L Brands’ prerecorded January sales message, call 1-866-639-7583 or log onto www.LB.com for an audio replay. The company will report fourth quarter earnings after the close of the market on Feb. 28, 2018 and will hold its live earnings call on March 1, 2018 at 9 a.m. Eastern.
The company also announced the declaration of its regular quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share payable on March 9, 2018 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Feb. 23, 2018. This is the company’s 173rd consecutive quarterly dividend.
ABOUT L BRANDS:
L Brands, through Victoria’s Secret, PINK, Bath & Body Works, La Senza and Henri Bendel, is an international company. The company operates 3,078 company-owned specialty stores in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Greater China, and its brands are sold in more than 800 additional franchised locations worldwide. The company’s products are also available online at www.VictoriasSecret.com, www.BathandBodyWorks.com, www.HenriBendel.com and www.LaSenza.com.
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
We caution that any forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) contained in this press release or the January sales call or made by our company or our management involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, many of which are beyond our control. Accordingly, our future performance and financial results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in any such forward-looking statements. Words such as “estimate,” “project,” “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “planned,” “potential” and any similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements. Risks associated with the following factors, among others, in some cases have affected and in the future could affect our financial performance and actual results and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements included in this press release or the January sales call or otherwise made by our company or our management:
We are not under any obligation and do not intend to make publicly available any update or other revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release or the January sales call to reflect circumstances existing after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of future events even if experience or future events make it clear that any expected results expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements will not be realized. Additional information regarding these and other factors can be found in Item 1A. Risk Factors in our 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K.
L BRANDS | ||||||||||||||||||
JANUARY 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||
Comparable Sales Increase (Decrease) (Stores and Direct): | ||||||||||||||||||
Jan. 2018 |
Jan. 2017 |
Fourth Quarter 2017 |
Fourth Quarter 2016 |
Year 2017 |
Year 2016 |
|||||||||||||
Victoria’s Secret1 | 4 | % | (10 | %) | (1 | %) | (3 | %) | (8 | %) | 0 | % | ||||||
Bath & Body Works1 | 13 | % | 12 | % | 6 | % | 5 | % | 5 | % | 6 | % | ||||||
L Brands2 | 7 | % | (4 | %) | 2 | % | 0 | % | (3 | %) | 2 | % | ||||||
1 – Results include company-owned stores in the U.S. and Canada and direct sales.
2 – Results include company-owned stores in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Greater China and direct sales.
Comparable Sales Increase (Decrease) (Stores Only): | ||||||||||||||||||
Jan. 2018 |
Jan. 2017 |
Fourth Quarter 2017 |
Fourth Quarter 2016 |
Year 2017 |
Year 2016 |
|||||||||||||
Victoria’s Secret1 | 0 | % | (4 | %) | (6 | %) | (2 | %) | (8 | %) | (1 | %) | ||||||
Bath & Body Works1 | 9 | % | 11 | % | 4 | % | 2 | % | 2 | % | 3 | % | ||||||
L Brands2 | 2 | % | 0 | % | (2 | %) | 0 | % | (4 | %) | 1 | % | ||||||
1 – Results include company-owned stores in the U.S. and Canada.
2 – Results include company-owned stores in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Greater China.
Total Sales (Millions): | |||||||||||
Fourth Quarter 2017 (14 weeks) |
Fourth Quarter 2016 (13 weeks) |
Year 2017 (53 weeks) |
Year 2016 (52 weeks) |
||||||||
Victoria’s Secret1 | $ | 2,038.3 | $ | 2,062.7 | $ | 5,878.9 | $ | 6,198.9 | |||
Victoria’s Secret Direct | 630.6 | 526.1 | 1,508.3 | 1,582.2 | |||||||
Total Victoria’s Secret | $ | 2,668.9 | $ | 2,588.8 | $ | 7,387.2 | $ | 7,781.1 | |||
Bath & Body Works1 | $ | 1,544.6 | $ | 1,422.1 | $ | 3,589.2 | $ | 3,399.5 | |||
Bath & Body Works Direct | 249.1 | 197.8 | 558.7 | 452.2 | |||||||
Total Bath & Body Works | $ | 1,793.7 | $ | 1,619.9 | $ | 4,147.9 | $ | 3,851.7 | |||
VS & BBW International2 | $ | 170.3 | $ | 124.1 | $ | 502.4 | $ | 422.2 | |||
Other | $ | 190.2 | $ | 156.7 | $ | 594.9 | $ | 519.0 | |||
L Brands | $ | 4,823.1 | $ | 4,489.5 | $ | 12,632.4 | $ | 12,574.0 | |||
1 – Results include company-owned stores in the U.S. and Canada.
2 – Results include retail sales from company-owned stores outside of the U.S. and Canada, royalties associated with franchised stores and wholesale sales.
Total Company-Owned Stores: | |||||||
Stores |
|
Stores | |||||
Operating | Operating | ||||||
at 1/28/17 | Opened | Closed | at 2/3/18 | ||||
Victoria's Secret U.S. | 998 | 5 | (19 | ) | 984 | ||
PINK U.S. | 133 | 8 | (1 | ) | 140 | ||
Victoria's Secret Canada | 37 | 2 | - | 39 | |||
PINK Canada | 9 | - | (2 | ) | 7 | ||
Total Victoria’s Secret | 1,177 | 15 | (22 | ) | 1,170 | ||
Bath & Body Works U.S. | 1,591 | 32 | (31 | ) | 1,592 | ||
Bath & Body Works Canada | 102 | - | - | 102 | |||
Total Bath & Body Works | 1,693 |