Reuters: Global Markets: G-III Apparel expects gross margins to improve, shares rise

Reuters: Global Markets Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

G-III Apparel expects gross margins to improve, shares rise Mar 22nd 2012, 16:27 Thu Mar 22, 2012 12:27pm EDT (Reuters) - G-III Apparel Group Ltd (GIII.O) said it expects gross margins to improve this year on lower sourcing costs, lifting its shares nearly 10 percent after the company reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results. The apparel company may see better margins in both its licensed and non-licensed businesses this year, a company executive said on a conference call with analysts. G-III Apparel's shares pared their premarket trading losses to shoot up 10 percent to $29.14 on Thursday on the Nasdaq. Higher promotions squeezed the company's margins in the year ended January 31, while warm weather hurt sales of winter products in its latest reported quarter. A warm winter hurt sales at many U.S. retailers and forced them to offer deeper-than-usual discounts to clear their winter gear merchandise. The New York-based company, which holds a license to sell Calvin Klein products, also said it signed a joint venture deal with China Ting Group Holdings Ltd (3398.HK) to operate Calvin Klein retail stores in China and Hong Kong. G-III Apparel -- which also licenses clothes and accessories under the Sean John, Kenneth Cole Productions (KCP.N) brands -- will own 51 percent of the joint venture which is expected to start operating the stores this fall. Fourth-quarter profit fell to $5.1 million, or 25 cents a share, from $12.3 million, or 62 cents a share, a year ago. Net sales rose 9 percent to $294.3 million. Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 28 cents a share, on revenue of $310.8 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. For fiscal 2013, G-III Apparel expects a profit of $2.62 to $2.72 a share, lower than expectations of $3.14 a share. (Reporting by Mihir Dalal and Juhi Arora in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian, Viraj Nair) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions