Guess earnings total $61 million in Q2

By

Robin Driver

Published
Aug 26, 2021

Los Angeles-based apparel retailer Guess?, Inc. announced net earnings of $61.1 million, or $0.91 per diluted share, for the second quarter on Wednesday, as improved margins boosted year-over-year revenue gains.

 
In the second quarter ended July 31, 2021, the company’s revenue totaled $628.6 million, up 57.7% from the prior-year period, when disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic saw the retailer’s sales slump to $398.5 million. Compared to the same period two years ago, when the company generated $683.2 million in revenue, sales decreased 8.0%.
 
Nonetheless, Guess’ most recent second-quarter earnings represented a 141.1% rise compared to two years prior, when the company reported income of $25.3 million, or $0.35 per diluted share. As pointed out by Guess CEO Carlos Alberini, this progress was thanks, in large part, to an expansion of more than 700 basis points in the company’s operating margin, from 6.7% to 13.9%.

In last year’s second quarter, the retailer recorded a net loss of $20.4 million, or a diluted loss per share of $0.31. Operating margin for the quarter was negative 3.6%.
 
“We are very pleased with our performance this quarter, which significantly exceeded our earnings expectations,” commented Alberini in a release. “We achieved this result in spite of the pandemic and being significantly less promotional in all of our direct-to-consumer businesses.”
 
Looking back over the first six months of the fiscal year, Guess reported $1.15 billion in revenue, up 74.4% from $658.8 million in the prior-year period, but down 5.8% compared to $1.22 billion in the same period two years ago.
 
The company’s net earnings for the first half of the fiscal year came to $73.1 million, or $1.10 per diluted share. This compares to a loss of $178.0 million, or $2.72 per diluted share, in the previous year’s first half, and earnings of $3.9 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, the year before.
 
In light of the changeable circumstances that continue to surround the Covid-19 pandemic, Guess did not provide detailed financial outlook. The company did, however, reveal that it expects its Q3 revenues to be either flat or slightly negative in comparison to the same period two years ago, while full-year revenue is predicted to be down in the mid-single digits.
 
As of the end of the second quarter, Guess directly operated 1,046 retail stores in the Americas, Europe and Asia, with a further 551 locations being run through the company’s global partners and distributers.