L Brands Profit Up 25%

(RTTNews) - Women's apparel and personal care products retailer L Brands Inc. (LTD) said Wednesday after the markets closed that its third quarter profit rose 25% from last year, helped by higher sales.

The company's quarterly earnings per share also came in above analysts' expectations. At the same time, the company forecast fourth quarter earnings below analysts' current consensus estimate, but once again raised its full year earnings outlook.

L Brands shares are currently losing 2.02% in after hours trading after closing the day's regular trading session at $64.41, up 39 cents. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $42.49 to $65.37.

L Brands Inc., which was formerly known as Limited Brands, Inc. is a specialty apparel retailer focused on lingerie, beauty and personal care products through the Victoria's Secret, Pink, Bath & Body Works, La Senza and Henri Bendel chains. The company operates 2,655 specialty stores in the United States.

For the third quarter ended November 2, 2013, the Columbus, Ohio-based company reported net income of $92.0 million or $0.31 per share, compared to $73.4 million or $0.25 per share.

The year-ago quarter results included a charge of $0.04 per share related to La Senza store closures, and a gain of $0.03 per share from cash distributions related to the company's Easton investments.

On average, 31 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.28 per share for the third quarter.

The company had said earlier this month that it expected third quarter earnings to come in at the high end of its August guidance of $0.23 to $0.28 per share.

As previously announced, the company's net sales rose 6% to $2.17 billion in the third quarter from $2.05 billion in the same quarter last year. Same-store sales for the quarter increased 3%. Twenty-six analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $2.17 billion for the third quarter.

Looking forward, the company forecast fourth quarter earnings of $1.67 to $1.82 per share. The fourth quarter projection includes incremental interest expense of about $0.02 per share related to the $500 million notes issued in October, which was not included in the company's previous forecast.

The company raised its full year earnings outlook to a range of $3.07 to $3.22 per share from its prior outlook of $3.06 and $3.21 per share.

Analysts currently expect the company to earn $1.83 per share for the fourth quarter and $3.19 per share for the full year 2013.