Lululemon Forecast Lags Estimates as Slow Deliveries Hurt Sales

VANCOUVER, Canada — Lululemon Athletica Inc., the yoga- wear retailer that got a new chief executive officer this year, forecast profit that trailed analysts' estimates after slower product deliveries weighed on sales last year.

Profit per share in the year through January 2015 will be $1.80 to $1.90, Vancouver-based Lululemon said today in a statement. The average of 34 analysts’ projections compiled by Bloomberg was $2.14.

Laurent Potdevin replaced Christine Day as CEO in January as Lululemon works to expand internationally and maintain clothing quality after pulling one of its most popular styles of pants from shelves last year. The recall prompted Lululemon to add more quality-control processes that have slowed deliveries and damped sales growth.

This year will be “an investment year with an emphasis on strengthening our foundation, reigniting our product engine, and accelerating sustainable and controlled global expansion,” Potdevin said in the statement.

Lululemon fell 0.7 percent to $47.91 at 7:39 a.m. in New York, before the market opened. The shares fell 18 percent this year through yesterday, compared with a 0.2 percent gain in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

Revenue in the current fiscal year will be $1.77 billion to $1.82 billion, the company said. Analysts estimated $1.82 billion, on average.

Net income in the quarter ended Feb. 2 was little changed at $109.7 million, or 75 cents a share, compared with $109.4 million, or 75 cents, a year earlier, Lululemon said today. Analysts estimated profit of 72 cents a share.

By: Lindsey Rupp