Lululemon Shares Up After Q2 Tops Street, Strong Outlook

(RTTNews) - Shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (LULU) gained 8 percent on Thursday's extended session after the yoga apparel maker reported a profit and revenues for the second quarter that easily trumped Wall Street estimates. The company also detailed a strong outlook for the current quarter and lifted its fiscal year guidance.

Vancouver-based Lululemon's second-quarter profit surged to $95.8 million or $0.71 per share from $48.7 million or $0.36 per share last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.49 per share.

Revenues for the quarter jumped 25 percent to $723.5 million from $581.1 million last year. On a constant dollar basis, revenues increased 24 percent. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $667.74 million for the quarter.

Total comparable sales increased 20 percent, with comparable store sales up 10 percent and direct to consumer revenues up 48 percent. Gross margin improved 360 basis points to 54.8 percent.

Stuart Haselden, Chief Operating Officer, commented, "We're pleased to see the great results of Q2 across all parts of our business now extending into the current quarter. This ongoing success positions us to achieve our 2020 goals and beyond. Above all, we want to thank our educators and teams around the world who make this possible."

Looking forward to third quarter, Lululemon expects earnings of $0.65 to $0.67 per share and revenues of $720 million to $730 million. Analysts currently estimate earnings of $0.63 per share and revenues of $707.19 million for the quarter.

For the full year 2018, the company now expect earnings of $3.45 to $3.53 per share and revenues of $3.185 billion to $3.235 billion. Analysts currently estimate earnings of $3.25 per share and revenues of $3.09 billion.

Earlier, the company expected earnings of $3.10 to $3.18 per share and revenues of $3.040 billion to $3.075 billion.

LULU closed Thursday's trading at $137.00, down $1.70 or 1.23%, on the Nasdaq. The stock, however, gained $10.75 or 7.85% in the after-hours trade.