Guess Q3 Profit Down - Update

(RTTNews) - Apparel retailer Guess? Inc. (GES) on Wednesday reported a drop in profit for the third quarter, hurt largely by lower-than-expected revenues.

Guess' third-quarter profit dropped to $9.1 million or $0.11 per share from $12.4 million or $0.15 per share last year.

Revenues for the third quarter increased 2.9 percent to $536.3 million from $521.0 million last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had a consensus revenue estimate of $548.37 million for the quarter.

Americas retail stores sales dropped 4.7 percent, while wholesale revenue decreased 4 percent. For the quarter, revenues at European business segment gained 16 percent, while Asia revenues increased 10 percent.

Guess CEO Victor Herrero, commented, "While I recognize the challenges we are facing in the Americas, I am thrilled that, due to our various revenue enhancement initiatives, our third quarter revenues increased by 3%. We enjoyed strong double digit growth in Europe and in Asia, and we remain focused on improving our profitability in North America. As we reach the end of our transition year, I look forward to fiscal year 2018 with tremendous anticipation and excitement."

Looking forward to the third quarter, Guess expects earnings of $0.40 to $0.50 per share and revenues to increase between 3.5 to 7.5 percent. For the full year, Guess now expects revenue growth of 0.5 to 1.5 percent and adjusted earnings of $0.42 to $0.55 per share.

GES closed Wednesday's trading at $15.32, down $0.24 or 1.54% in the after-hours trade.