Ralph Lauren Q4 Earnings Down, But Better than Expected

Ralph Lauren Corp. reported net income of $124 million, or $1.41 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015. Excluding foreign currency impacts, EPS was $1.69 in the fourth quarter. This compared to net income of $153 million, or $1.68 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014.

Net income for the full year fiscal 2015 period was $702 million, or $7.88 per diluted share. Excluding foreign currency impacts, EPS was $8.19 for Fiscal 2015. This compared to net income of $776 million, or $8.43 per diluted share, for Fiscal 2014.

The company’s board authorized an additional $500 million stock repurchase program permitting the company to purchase shares of Class A Common Stock, subject to market conditions. This amount is in addition to the $80 million available at the end of the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2015 as part of a previously authorized stock repurchase program, bringing the Company’s total current authorization to $580 million.

“We made excellent progress on our strategic initiatives in Fiscal 2015,” said Ralph Lauren, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We opened several stores in key markets around the world, fueled the momentum of our luxury accessories business with the launch of the Drawstring Ricky bag, and continued to innovate with the introduction of Polo for women as well as the development of Polo Sport which will be launching this Fall. We also announced a new global brand management organizational structure that will more fully leverage the power of our brands to drive future growth for the Company.”

Ralph Lauren ended its fiscal fourth quarter with 466 directly operated stores, comprised of 143 Ralph Lauren stores, 64 Club Monaco stores and 259 Polo factory stores, as well as 536 concession shop locations worldwide.