Tiffany & Co Raises Annual Sales Outlook Following Strong Q3
November 25, 09
 While sales in the U.S. declined 9%, they rose 10% in Asia and 12% in Europe |
Despite the year-over-year declines, Tiffany decided to raise its sales and earnings outlook for the full year.
In the nine-month period ending October 31, net sales of $1.728 billion were reported, 14 percent below the prior year. On a constant-exchange-rate basis, net sales and comparable store sales declined 13 percent and 15 percent.
"We were pleased to see that the rate of sales declines in the U.S. lessened as the quarter progressed,” said CEO Michael J. Kowalski. “At the same time, many countries in Asia-Pacific and Europe achieved considerably better-than-expected sales. These results, combined with ongoing expense restraint, contributed to earnings above our prior expectation."
In the Americas, sales of $303.5 million in the third quarter were 9 percent below prior year levels. Comparable
Combined Internet and catalog sales in the U.S. declined 9 percent.
In the Asia-Pacific region, sales increased 10 percent to $225.8 million in the third quarter due to improved results in most countries. However, comparable store sales declined 3 percent.
In Europe, sales increased 12 percent to $65 million. On a constant-exchange-rate basis, sales rose 16 percent in the third quarter and comparable store sales increased 9 percent due to growth in most countries.
In its 2009 outlook, Tiffany said it expects a mid-single-digit percentage increase in worldwide sales. Total sales growth in November-to-date backs this expectation, but results in December are most relevant to the company's ability to achieve its outlook for the fourth quarter.
For the full year, Tiffany expects a worldwide sales decline of approximately 8 percent.