Burberry stock suffers huge loss
Burberry Group Plc, the maker of $3,100 metal-studded Knight handbags, fell 12 percent in London trading, the most ever, after the company said it may miss profit estimates.
Meeting analysts' estimates for full-year earnings before interest and taxes of 210 million pounds "looks a bit of a stretch", Chief Financial Officer Stacey Cartwright said on a conference call yesterday.
Third-quarter sales in the period rose 23 percent to 254 million pounds, the company said.
Cartwright said retail sales were "slightly" under plan after the company was slow with deliveries.
Burberry will spend more than it planned in the second half on warehousing and distribution. The label is investing in logistics and is adding higher-priced bags to stoke sales.
"It's a tough market, and if you miss on expectations you will get punished," said John Guy, an analyst with MF Global Securities in London.
Burberry fell 56.5 pence to 430 pence at 10:31 am in London. It's the steepest percentage decline since the company was spun off from GUS Plc in 2002.
Agencies
(China Daily 01/16/2008 page17)
