Tiffany's Quarterly Sales Fall 2.2%

Upscale jeweler Tiffany & Co reported a surprise drop in quarterly sales as a strong dollar hurt tourist spending in the United States and reduced the value of sales from other markets.

The company, which has raised prices to offset the impact of a strong dollar, said worldwide comparable sales fell 5 percent in the third quarter ended Oct. 31.

On a constant-currency basis, comparable sales rose 1 percent.

The New York-based company's shares dropped 6 percent to $71.83 in light premarket trading on Tuesday.

Tiffany, known for its Fifth Avenue flagship store in Manhattan, has been revamping its fine jewelry lines and expanding its silver jewelry offerings to attract shoppers.

The company's net income more than doubled to $91 million, or 70 cents per share, missing the average analyst estimate of 75 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

In the third quarter of 2014, Tiffany had a loss of $93.8 million linked to debt extinguishment.

Revenue fell 2.2 percent to $938.2 million. Analysts on average had expected revenue to rise 1.2 percent to $971 million.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirti Pandey)