Retailer reports higher Q2 profit

A mannequin in the front window of the Victoria's Secret store in New York. Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News

Limited Brands Inc, the operator of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works, on Wednesday (local time) posted a higher second-quarter net profit, helped by a $304 million gain from the sale of its Express apparel business.

The firm said quarterly net profit climbed to $264.4 million, or 67 cents per share, compared with $113.1 million, or 28 cents per share, a year earlier.

Earlier this summer, the company sold off majority interests in its flagging Limited and Express apparel chains in order to concentrate on its more lucrative lines, the Victoria's Secret lingerie chain, and Bath & Body Works, which sells personal care items. Victoria's Secret is now expanding stores and adding new categories such as workout wear.

Excluding one-time items, Limited Brands posted net income of $80.6 million, or 20 cents per share, a penny above Wall Street's consensus estimate of 19 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.

Total quarterly sales rose 7 percent to $2.62 billion, the company said, while same-store sales - a key measure of financial performance - rose 2 percent. Analysts, on average, had expected total sales of $2.64 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.

Agencies

(China Daily 08/24/2007 page16)