Q4FY19 revenue climbs 5.7% at Guess

During the fourth quarter, retail revenue of Americas decreased 0.7 per cent and increased 0.4 per cent in constant currency. Retail comparable sales including e-commerce grew 6 per cent and 7 per cent in constant currency.

Revenue from Europe went up 4.1 per cent and 10.0 per cent in constant currency. Retail comp sales including e-commerce were flat and gained 6 per cent in constant currency. Asia revenues jumped 21.7 per cent and 25.8 per cent in constant currency. Retail comp sales including e-commerce moved higher 13 per cent and 17 per cent in constant currency.

"I am thrilled to be back at Guess and be part of the Guess family again. This was and is my dream job, and I feel that my prior time with the company and my most recent experiences prepared me well for my current role. I believe there is a tremendous opportunity for Guess today, as the brand continues to gain relevancy with younger consumers all over the world where I see significant white space for continued growth. I also think that there are several areas of the operation that offer opportunities for improvement, which should result in operating margin growth over time," Carlos Alberini, chief executive officer, said.

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019, the company recorded adjusted net earnings of $58.2 million, a 12.8 per cent increase compared to $51.6 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018. Adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 12.9 per cent to $0.70, compared to $0.62 for the prior-year quarter.

For the fiscal year ended February 2, 2019, the company recorded adjusted net earnings of $80.4 million, compared to $58.7 million for the fiscal year ended February 3, 2018. Adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 40.0 per cent to $0.98, compared to $0.70 for the prior year.

Total net revenue for fiscal 2019 increased 10.4 per cent to $2.61 billion, compared to $2.36 billion in the prior year. In constant currency, net revenue increased by 10.6 per cent.

"Looking forward, I plan to spend the next few weeks with our team developing our strategic vision and implementation plan. I intend to apply some key principles for shareholder value creation, including a disciplined approach to capital allocation and working capital management, careful product development and distribution, pursuing global initiatives to leverage and support our global business more effectively and, most importantly, placing the customer at the center of everything we do," Alberini concluded.

Guess expects consolidated net revenue to increase between 2.5 and 3.5 per cent for first quarter of fiscal 2020 and to rise of around 4 to 5 per cent during fiscal 2020. In constant currency, the growth is likely to between 7 and 8 per cent in the first quarter and gain of approximately 5.5 to 6.5 per cent during fiscal 2020. (RR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India