Williams-Sonoma meets Q3 expectations; issues weak outlook

San Francisco – Williams-Sonoma Inc. reported that its third quarter income rose 4% to $50.7 million from $48.9 million in the year-ago period, in line with forecasts. But the retailer issued a disappointing outlook for the current quarter.



Second quarter net revenues grew 6% to $1.04 billion, from $982 million in the year-ago period.



Total same-store sales increased 5.7%. Direct-to-customer revenues grew 9.4%.



During fiscal 2014, Williams-Sonoma intends to open 33 new stores and close 24 existing stores across its five brands, for a net addition nine stores, bringing its total store count to 594.



Williams-Sonoma forecast earnings growth for the third quarter of fiscal 2014 that came in beneath Wall Street expectations.