L Brands tops Wall Street estimates in the fiscal third quarter

L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LB) published its earnings report for the fiscal third quarter on Wednesday that came in significantly better than what analysts had anticipated. The company attributed its upbeat performance to its Victoria’s Secret brand that it said was particularly hawkish in Q3.

L Brands shares jumped close to 15% in extended trading on Wednesday. The stock is now trading at £29.11 per share after recovering from a year to date low of £7 per share in March. L Brands had a per-share price of £13.20 at the start of the year. If you want to invest in the stock market, you’ll need a broker; here’s a list of the top few to make selection easier for you.

L Brands’ Q3 financial results versus analysts’ estimates

L Brands said that its net income in the third quarter came in at £249.64 million that translates to 88 pence per share. In the comparable quarter of last year, it had posted £190.29 million of loss, or 68.72 pence per share. In the prior quarter (Q2), L Brands had recorded £37.84 million of net loss, as per the report published in Augusts.

On an adjusted basis, the fashion retailer earned 85 pence per share in the recent quarter versus the year-ago figure of 1.51 pence per share. L Brands said that its revenue printed at £2.31 billion in Q3 as compared to £2.02 billion in the same quarter last year. Same-store sales, the American company added, were 28% up on an annualised basis in the third quarter.

According to FactSet, experts had forecast the company to print £2.02 billion of sales in the recent quarter. Their estimate for adjusted per-share earnings was capped at 9.06 pence. The U.S. multinational investment bank, Morgan Stanley, stuck to its hold rating on L Brands last week.

CEO Andrew Meslow’s comments on Wednesday

CEO Andrew Meslow commented on the financial report on Wednesday and said:

“L Brands reported a record third quarter, driven by exceptional results and continued strength at Bath & Body Works, and a significant improvement in performance at Victoria’s Secret.”

Meslow also said that the company was well-positioned for the upcoming holiday season. But he acknowledged the uncertainties associated with the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and warned that L Brands might fail in exceeding last year’s figures for earnings and sales in the fiscal fourth quarter.

At the time of writing, the Columbus-based fashion retailer has a market cap of £7.05 billion.