Good results for Coach
24 October 2012Coach, the US handbag and leather goods retailer, posted higher than expected fiscal first-quarter sales and profits as consumers in the US and overseas bought more of their trendy accessories.
Coach’s earnings per share rose about 6% to 77 cents, a penny above estimates. Revenue grew 11% to $1.16 billion, in line with forecasts, on strong same-store sales in key markets, CEO Lew Frankfort said.
“We continued to make progress against our strategic initiatives, enhancing our leadership position in the North American women's bag and accessory category through fashion innovation,” and aggressively growing international business, Frankfort said in a statement.
Coach shares were up 7.7%.
“We believe the acceleration in the U.S. (comparable store sales) last quarter will allay fears that the Coach brand is losing momentum,” Nomura Securities analyst Paul Lejeuz said.
During the last quarter Coach completed acquisition of its domestic distributors in Korea and Malaysia. Its expenses rose to 44.2% as a percentage of net sales from 42.1% a year ago, in part on expenses associated with the acquisitions.
Coach also said it will repurchase up to $1.5 billion of its shares by June 2015.
