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Last Update: 14-Jan-13 07:59 ET
Fifth and Pacific shares fall 4% following lowered EBITDA guidance
Fifth & Pacific (FNP $12.30 -0.54) expected fourth quarter 2012 adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $63-68 mln, resulting in a full year 2012 expectation of $100-105 mln, which is at the low end of the range the company guided previously. This includes a $3 mln negative impact on adjusted EBITDA from Hurricane Sandy across the three brands. During Q4, kate spade performed at the high end of our expectations, delivering direct to consumer comparable sales growth of 27%. Lucky Brand also had a strong quarter, generating direct to consumer comparable sales growth of 3% and strong gross margins. Juicy Couture posted disappointing direct to consumer comparable sales and gross margins in November and December as the co tightly managed its inventory through very aggressive markdowns in response to sales softness..Overall for the co, 2012 was a year of progress marked by industry leading growth at kate spade, and a significant improvement in performance at Lucky Brand -- tempered however by a miss in North America caused by merchandising and other issues at Juicy Couture that we believe are now being corrected under Paul Blum's direction. We anticipate reporting a year end inventory position that is in line with our plan, particularly at Juicy Couture. I am optimistic about delivering sizeable growth in 2013 at kate spade and Lucky Brand, while recognizing that the fixes at Juicy Couture will come late in 2013 and into 2014. We are providing 2013 guidance in this release for the company as a whole, as well as by business unit. We look forward to adding perspective to the outlook at the ICR XChange Conference on Thursday January 17th."
