Guess Q4 profit down 13%, up for full year

Los Angeles Guess reported Tuesday afternoon that its fourth-quarter profit fell 13% from a year-earlier, as same-store sales slowed.

Guess posted net income of $47.9 million, down from $55.2 million a year ago. For the quarter ended Feb. 2, sales rose 9% to $561 million, while same-store sales declined 6.5%. Guess said it reduced inventories and slowed new store development during the quarter.

“Our performance was solid during the fourth fiscal quarter of 2009, especially considering the unprecedented global economic crisis and significant currency headwinds we encountered during the period,” said Paul Marciano, CEO, Guess, Los Angeles. “As we had anticipated, our retail business was affected by the current environment, which impacted sales and margins negatively, resulting in a decrease in profitability for the segment."

For the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, Guess reported net earnings of $213.6 million, an increase of 14.5% compared with net earnings of $186.5 million for the year ended Feb.2, 2008.

Total net revenue for the year increased 19.6% to $2.09 billion, from $1.75 billion in the prior year. Sales at the company’s stores in North America rose 13.4% to $978.0 million for fiscal year 2009. Net revenue from the company's European segment increased 33.5% to $719.0 million.

Looking ahead, Guess said its long-term strategy remains unchanged.

“We will continue to invest in international expansion. We will continue to prudently manage our business, with focused execution on cost control and inventory management. We will also deploy our capital carefully, making targeted and compelling investments that enhance shareholder value,” Marciano said.