Warnaco Group Inc. (WRC) posted better-than-anticipated first-quarter results, and boosted full-year guidance to above the Street’s view.
The company which makes Calvin Klein, Speedo and Chaps apparel, said it now expects 2010 earnings in the range of $3.30 and $3.40 a share, on revenue increasing between 8% and 10%. Previously, the company had expected earnings between $3.10 and $3.20 a share on sales growth in the range of 5% to 7%.
The view tops the Street’s expectations; analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast full-year earnings of$3.26 a share on revenue of $2.18 billion, an increase of 7.9% year-over-year.
For the first quarter, the company posted earnings of $48 million or $1.02 a share, compared with year-ago earnings of $37.6 million or 81 cents a share. Adjusted earnings rose to $1.09 a share, up from 97 cents one year ago.
Revenue rose 9.4% to $588.2 million, up from last year’s revenue of $538.44 million. Gross margin improved to 45.4% from 41.9%, one year ago.
The Street had expected adjusted earnings of $1.06 a share on revenue of $576 million
Growth in our Calvin Klein(R) businesses, led by double digit increases in all our key international geographies, as well as similar gains in Chaps(R) and our Core Intimates business, resulting from expanded distribution and new product launches, drove a 9% increase in total Company net revenues,” said Joe Gromek, Warnaco's president and chief executive officer, in a release. “We were encouraged by our strong brand performance as evidenced by the nearly 6% increase in comparable store sales, including a strong performance in Europe, and believe we are well positioned to gain market share as the global economies recover."
Shares of Warnaco Group rose $3.47 or 8.38% to close at $44.86 a share, before falling 73 cents or 1.63% in electronic trading after the market closed.
