Reuters: Global Markets: VF posts higher-than-expected profit, raises forecast

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VF posts higher-than-expected profit, raises forecast Oct 22nd 2012, 12:49 Mon Oct 22, 2012 8:49am EDT (Reuters) - VF Corp (VFC.N), owner of clothing brands like The North Face, Wrangler and Lee, posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Monday as its outdoor and action sports segment continued to do well. VF Corp, considered to have among the best global supply chains in the industry, said international revenue had risen 28 percent in the third quarter on a constant-dollar basis. The company said revenue from its own brands, excluding acquisitions, had increased 25 percent in Asia. It recently said it aimed to add $1.1 billion in revenue to its Asia-Pacific business over the next five years. For the third quarter, VF earned $381.3 million, or $3.42 a share, compared with $300.7 million, or $2.69 a share, a year earlier. The results include expenses from the September 2011 Timberland acquisition and a gain on the sale of John Varvatos Enterprises Inc. Excluding those items, the profit came in at $3.52 a share, while analysts on average were expecting $3.49, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The Greensboro, North Carolina-based company raised its full-year profit outlook to $9.60 per share from the $9.50 that it had forecast in July. The analysts' average estimate is $9.54 a share. Third-quarter revenue rose 14 percent to $3.15 billion, while analysts were expecting $3.17 billion. VF's board announced a quarterly dividend of 87 cents per share - an increase of 21 percent over last quarter's payout. It is payable December 20 to shareholders of record on December 10. Shares of VF were down 4.9 percent at $159 in trading before the market opened. (Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Chicago; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Lisa Von Ahn) (This story corrects analysts' estimate in paragraph 6 to $3.49 a share from $3.42; corrects earnings beat in first bullet point to 3 cents a share from 10 cents) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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