Jones Group swings to 1Q profit; lowers forecast

New York -- The Jones Group Inc. returned to a profit in the first quarter, but sales were hampered by unseasonably cool weather. The company said net income for the three months ended April 6, after paying preferred dividends, totaled $500,000. That compares with a loss of $1.2 million in the year-ago period.



Revenues for the first quarter of 2013 were almost $1.1 billion, up from $936 million for the same period last year. Jones Group CEO Wesley R. Card said that weather and other factors impacted the business both domestically and internationally.



"First quarter revenues were in line with our revised expectations, with the jeanswear business registering the largest improvement in operating results,” Card said. "For other areas of the business, the cold weather negatively impacted seasonal spring product sales and, accordingly, gross margins for the first quarter were approximately 210 basis points below last year.”



Jones Group lowered its full-year revenue forecast from a range of $3.9 billion to $4.1 billion, to a range of $3.8 billion to $3.95 billion. Wall Street analysts had been predicting full-year revenues of $3.9 billion.



“We expect continued margin pressure in sportswear in the second quarter, as we clear spring merchandise in anticipation of our new and refocused product offerings for fall," Card said.