Tiffany Beats Profit Expectations, But Same-store Sales Suffer Surprise Decline

Tiffany & Co. reported a fiscal first-quarter net profit that rose to $92.9 million, or 74 cents a share, from $87.5 million, or 69 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus for earnings per share was 70 cents. The high-end jewelry retailer said evenue increased to $899.6 million from $891.3 million, but was below the FactSet consensus of $914.7 million, as weaker-than-expected sales in the Americas and Europe offset a bigger-than-expected rise in Asia-Pacific. Worldwide same-store sales fell 3%, missing the FactSet consensus of 1.6% growth. Tiffany affirmed its 2017 outlook for net sales increasing in the low-single-digit percentage range and net EPS rising by a high-single-digit percentage. The stock, which was indicated down 2% in premarket trade, has soared 20% year to date through Tuesday, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has lost 8.0% and the S&P 500 has gained 7.1%.