Signet Posts Soaring Revenue On Zale Acquisition

(IDEX Online) – Signet Jewelers Ltd. said its fiscal second-quarter revenue soared 39 percent, driven by a sales boost from its acquisition of Zale Corp. earlier this year.

Signet, which also owns Kay Jewelers and Jared the Galleria of Jewelry, in May completed its $1.46 billion acquisition of Zale. The combination created one of the largest global specialty jewelry retailers, with more than 3,600 outlets.

Signet Chief Executive Mike Barnes said Thursday that the integration process is under way, adding that the company expects higher three-year cost savings from the Zale acquisition of between $150 million to $175 million. Signet previously had expected cost savings of $100 million.

For the period ended August 2, Signet posted a profit of $58 million from $67.4 million a year earlier.

Total sales soared 39 percent to $1.23 billion, driven largely by the addition of Zale, which added sales of $247.5 million during the quarter. Analysts had projected $1.19 billion in revenue.

Same-store sales rose 4.8 percent, with Kay posting an 8.1 percent increase and Jared posting 4.9 percent growth. The Zale division slipped 0.9 percent. The company had expected overall growth of 3 percent to 5 percent.