L Brands reports declining holiday revenues, trims Q4 guidance

By

Robin Driver

Published
Jan 9, 2020

L Brands, Inc., the Columbus, Ohio-based owner of Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works announced a decrease of 4.07% in sales over the holiday period on Thursday and cut its guidance for fourth-quarter earnings.

 
In the nine-week period ended January 4, 2020, the company achieved net sales of $3.906 billion, down from the $4.072 billion reported in holiday 2018. Comparable sales for the period fell 3%.
 
Victoria’s Secret continued to be the main source of its parent company’s financial woes in November and December, posting a 12% decrease in comparable sales over the holiday period. These plummeting revenues were offset somewhat by an increase of 4% at Bath & Body Works.

Year to date, the company reported net sales of $12.113 billion, a decline of 2.76% compared to $12.457 billion in the prior-year period, while comparable sales for the 11-month period decreased 2%.
 
Here again, Bath & Body Works was left to pick up the slack with a 5% increase in comparable sales, against a 9% decrease at Victoria’s Secret.
 
Indeed, the iconic lingerie brand, which has failed to adapt to changing consumer attitudes, has continued to prove a problem for L Brands this fiscal year, posting consistently negative comps.
 
In light of its disappointing performance during the holiday period, L Brands has revised down its outlook for fourth-quarter earnings per share and now expects to report EPS of approximately $1.85, compared to its previous guidance of around $2.00.
 
Following the report of the company’s holiday sales results, L Brands stock was down 1.4% in premarket trading on Thursday.