Shares of Bath & Body Works Inc. (BBWI) experienced a 0.6% increase in premarket trading on Thursday following the release of their fiscal third-quarter earnings report. The home fragrance and personal care company surpassed earnings expectations for the quarter, although their full-year outlook presented a mixed picture.
In the quarter ending October 28, the company reported a net income of $119 million, or 52 cents per share, compared to $91 million, or 40 cents per share, in the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share came in at 48 cents, exceeding the FactSet consensus of 35 cents. However, sales saw a decline of 2.6% to $1.562 billion, which aligned with the FactSet consensus of $1.556 billion.
One positive aspect was the improvement in gross margin, which increased to 43.7% from 42.3%. Looking ahead to fiscal year 2023, Bath & Body Works Inc. raised its adjusted EPS guidance range to $2.90 to $3.10 from the previous range of $2.80 to $3.10. However, their sales growth outlook was revised downwards to a decline of 2.5% to 4.0% from a decline of 1.5% to 3.5%.
Over the past three months leading up to Wednesday, the company’s stock has experienced a significant decline of 13.8%, while the S&P 500 has seen a gain of 2.2%.
