Coach Q4 tops expectations

New York -- A big acquisition of a luxury shoe brand helped Coach top analysts’ fourth quarter earnings forecasts even as its sales and income fell.



Coach’s fourth-quarter net income plunged 84.4% to $11.7 million, down from $75.2 in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time charges, Coach said its net income came in at $85 million, or 31 cents per share, beating the analyst consensus by two cents.



Coach said Stuart Weitzman, which it acquired earlier this year, helped to boost its earnings.



Sales dropped 11.6% to $1 billion. Coach's North America same-store sales fell 19%. Analysts on average had expected a 20.8% decrease.



On a full-year basis, Coach revenue dropped 13% to $4.19 billion; full-year net income fell nearly 50% to $402 million, or $1.45 in earnings per share. Excluding one-time items, Coach recorded $1.92 in full-year earnings per share, down from $3.10 in the prior year.



For the fiscal year ended June 27, 2015, Coach’s net sales declined 13% to $4.19 billion from $4.81 billion the prior fiscal year while net income excluding transformation-related charges and acquisition costs was $531 million versus $870 million in the prior year.