Victoria’s Secret & Co. took a bottom-line hit in the third quarter, but said early holiday trends were promising.
Net losses tallied $71.2 million for the third quarter, compared with earnings of $24.4 million a year earlier. Adjusted losses of 86 cents per share proved to be steeper than the 78 cent deficit analysts expected, according to FactSet.
Adjusted earnings per share matched up with the company’s guidance last month, calling for losses of 70 cents to 90 cents.
Sales for the quarter ended Oct. 28 fell 4 percent to $1.3 billion.
But Martin Waters, chief executive officer, said he was seeing some signs of momentum and is looking ahead as the company seeks to continue its transformation.
“We are encouraged by the improving sales trend as we transition into the all-important holiday season,” Waters said in a statement. “Our sales trend in North America continued to improve as planned each month throughout the third quarter with October being our strongest month. Our teams have been resiliently focused on what is within our control and working tirelessly on multiple growth initiatives designed to create momentum.”
Waters pointed to the company’s new loyalty program, improvements in customer experience online, product improvements and tweaks to the Victoria’s Secret brand.
“We are excited with early holiday sales trends in November in North America both in our stores and through our digital experiences online,” he said.
The CEO’s plan has Victoria’s Secret looking to accelerate its core, ignite growth and transform its foundation.
“We believe our evolving strategies will position the business to deliver the potential of our category-defining Victoria’s Secret and Pink brands, and I believe we have the right leadership team in place at the right time for our business to be successful,” Waters said.
While Victoria’s Secret is expecting fourth-quarter sales to rise by 2 to 4 percent, sales for the full year are still slated to be down by 2 to 3 percent.
