Weight Watchers Shares Rally As Company Swings To Profit, Grows Subscriber Base

Shares of Weight Watchers International Inc. rallied 14% late Tuesday after the company swung to a profit in the fourth quarter and said its subscriber base rose 10% in the quarter. Weight Watchers said it earned $13.3 million, or 20 cents a share, versus a loss of $11.3 million, or 18 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Sales rose 3% to $267 million, from $259 million a year ago, the company said. It ended the quarter with 2.6 million subscribers, from 2.4 million a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of 19 cents a share on sales of $272 million.