May 3 (Reuters) – Elizabeth Arden Inc’s
third-quarter sales missed Wall Street forecasts as an overseas
sales gain of 6.3 percent was not enough to make up for a more
modest 1.7 percent pace in North America.
Arden, which sells Prevage anti-aging creams and celebrity
fragrances by stars including Britney Spears, reported a
better-than-expected profit, but lowered the high end of its
sales forecast for fiscal 2012.
KEY POINTS
Q3 2012 Estimate* Q3 2011
Net sales * $239.3 mln $243.4 mln $231.3 mln
Net income $2.2 mln — ($3.3 mln)
EPS $0.07 $0.04 ($0.12)
– Raises the bottom end of fiscal 2012 EPS forecast range by
5 cents to $1.95 to $2.00, but lowered the high end of its sales
growth range by half a percentage point to 5 percent to 5.5
percent from a range of 5 percent to 6 percent.
– Expects fourth-quarter net sales to range between
$261 million and $267 million, or increase 2.9 percent to 5.2
percent.
MARKET REACTION
Elizabeth Arden shares were down 1.4 percent at $38.01 at
midday on Thursday.
BACKGROUND
– Elizabeth Arden’s products are marketed to a variety of
shoppers, from those buying fragrances at Wal-Mart Stores Inc
to others who want to buy pricier Prevage anti-aging
creams at department store chains such as Macy’s Inc.
Note: * Average analyst estimate according to Thomson
Reuters I/B/E/S.
