Warm weather didn’t hurt this retailer’s sales

The parent company of Zales and Jared is looking forward to a happy holiday after producing third quarter results that met the company’s growth targets.

Signet Jewelers Limited, operator of 3,618 stores under banners such as Zale, Jared, Kay and Signet, said its total third quarter sales increased 3.3% to slightly more than $1.2 billion and same store sales increased 3.3% on top of a prior year increase of 4.2%. The company said it expects fourth quarter same store sales to increase between 3.5% and 5%.

“Signet delivered another quarter of continued growth, highlighted by a same store sales increase of 3.3% and adjusted earnings per share growth of 57.1%," said Signet CEO Mark Light. "We are pleased to report strong sales growth in line with our third quarter guidance. We also delivered excellent earnings growth, although earnings were affected by a modest margin impact due to a sales mix shift from Jared to Kay."

The company’s optimism around fourth quarter sales stems in part from an encouraging start to November at Jared and Zales stores.

“The implementation of store operations initiatives in the third quarter combined with significant investment in our recently launched innovative merchandising and marketing programs have positioned Signet for a strong fourth quarter,” Light said. "The integration of Zale continues to go well, and we remain confident we will deliver $30 million to $35 million in net synergies this fiscal year. We remain committed to maintaining profitable growth while balancing investment back into the business with shareholder return.”

On an adjusted basis, Signet reported profits of $25.8 million, or 33 cents a share, compared to $16.5 million, or 21 cents a share.