Lululemon sees Q4 profit rise following strong holiday trading

London - Lululemon Athletica Inc reported a strong fourth-quarter for the year ending January 28, 2018, with gross profits increasing 22 percent compared to the same period in fiscal 2016 to 522.5 million dollars.

Net revenue increased to 928.8 million dollars, an 18 percent increase compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016, while total comparable sales grew 12 percent. Lululemon benefitted from strong holiday sales, driven by its renewed online platform as well as traffic to its stores and holiday pop-ups.

News of a strong fourth-quarter sent Lululemon shares surging during after-hours trading, as share price increased 6.5 percent after a 2 percent dip during the day to 78.71 dollars. After-hours trading was bolstered when Lululemon reported a 33 percent rise in adjusted earnings for its fourth quarter to 1.33 dollars per share.

Stuart Haselden: "We are seeing strong momentum across our business"

For the fiscal year that ended January 28, 2018, Lululemon reported a net revenue of 2.6 billion dollars, an increase of 13 percent compared to fiscal 2016. Total comparable sales grew 7 percent and direct to consumer net revenue grew 27 percent. Gross profit grew 17 percent to 1.4 billion dollars and gross margin was 52.8 percent, an increase of 160 basis points compared to fiscal 2016. Lululemon ended fiscal 2017 with 990.5 million dollars in cash and cash equivalents compared to the 734.8 million dollars at the end of fiscal 2016.

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The successful results come a month after Lululemon faced the abrupt exit of its former Chief Executive Laurent Potdevin on undisclosed charges of misconduct. "We are pleased with our results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2017. The company continues to execute successfully on its global growth strategies and I would like to thank our entire team including Celeste, Stuart, and Sun for their leadership in driving this strong performance,” said Glenn Murphy, Executive Chairman of the Board in a statement.

Stuart Haselden, Chief Operating Officer, also added: "We are seeing strong momentum across our business as we now move into 2018, which is further positioning us to achieve our 2020 revenue goal of 4 billion dollars. Importantly, we would like to thank our store educators, ambassadors, and the Lululemon collective around the world for their energy and passion that is enabling our continued success."

Photo: Lululemon