Restoration Hardware Shares Plunge As Company Warns Of Slower Holiday Sales

Shares of Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. tanked nearly 20% late Thursday after the home furnishings retailer beat third-quarter earnings expectations but lowered its outlook for the fourth quarter on slower holiday sales and a later-than-planned launch for its catalog. The Corte Madera, Calif., company said it earned $2.5 million, or 6 cents a share, in the quarter, compared to $20.7 million, or 49 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, Restoration Hardware reported earnings of 20 cents a share, compared with 65 cents a share a year ago. Net revenues reached $549 million in the quarter, compared with $532 million a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 16 cents a share on sales of $528 million in the quarter. The company predicted adjusted net income in the range of $24.5 million to $28.5 million for the fourth quarter, and adjusted EPS between 60 cents a share and 70 cents a share. For fiscal 2016, it predicted revenue in the range of $2.11 billion to $2.14 billion, representing flat to 1% growth from the prior year, and adjusted EPS in the range of $1.19 to $1.29. It had forecast revenue growth in the range of 1% to 3% and adjusted EPS in the range of $1.60 to $1.80 when it reported second-quarter earnings in September. Restoration Hardware shares ended the regular trading session up 2.8%.