Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU)
Shares of Lululemon Athletica rose to a record high hours before the opening bell on Friday, rallying 7% to $112.70. The Vancouver-based company pleased investors after it announced better-than-expected first quarter earnings, as well as an upbeat second quarter and full-year forecast.
The superb performance came even as the athletic apparel company recently faced concerns about the behavior of its top management. Earlier in the year, CEO Laurent Potdevin resigned after going against Lululemon’s standards of conduct.
Improved growth in Asia, and robust traffic and sales in North America accounted for 25% of the total revenue during the period.
LULU Earnings & Outlook
The athletic apparel company reported net income of $75.2 million, or $0.55 a share in the first quarter of 2018, versus $31.3 million, or $0.23 a share, in the same quarter last year.
Adjusted earnings per share were $0.55. Revenue was $649.7 million, compared with $520.3 million in the first quarter of 2017.
Analysts were expecting earnings of $0.46 on revenue of $616 million. For Q2 of fiscal 2018, Lululemon expects revenue in the range of $660 million to $665 million and earnings of $0.46 to $0.48.
For the full year, they expect full-year revenue in the range of $3.04 billion and $3.08 billion and earnings of between $3.10 and $3.18 a share.
Lululemon Executive Comments
“Our first quarter results reflect the ongoing strength of our business and our continued focus on product innovation, global growth, digital acceleration, and, most importantly, investing in our people. Our momentum remains strong and we are optimistic for 2018 and beyond,” said Stuart Haselden, Chief Operating Officer of Lululemon.
Lululemon Athletica Company Profile
Lululemon Athletica Inc., is an apparel company that engages in the design, distribution, and retail of athletic accessories and apparel for men, women, as well as female youth. The company has two segments of operation: Direct to Consumer and Company-Operated Stores.
It offers jackets, shorts, pants, and tops for athletic activities and healthy lifestyle, such as training, yoga, and running, as well as other sweaty pursuits, and female youth athletic wear. In addition, the company offers fitness accessories, such as yoga mats, bags, underwear, water bottles, and socks.
Customers buy its products from its stores; outlets, warehouses; as well as from its network of wholesale accounts, including fitness centers, yoga studios, and health clubs.
It also sells the products from temporary locations, such as showrooms, license and supply arrangements, and seasonal stores, as well as direct-to-consumer sales through e-commerce websites (ivivva.com and lululemon.com) and through mobile apps.
The company operated a total of 404 stores under the Ivivva and Lululemon brands in the U.S, U.K., Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, China, Switzerland, Singapore, Germany, Japan, and South Korea.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. began its operations in 1998 and its head offices are located in Vancouver, Canada. The competitors of the company include Under Armour, Inc., Nike, Inc., L Brands, Adidas AG, and The Gap, Inc. –Reuters
