The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
Foot Locker Inc fell the most intraday in nine months after reporting sales that missed Wall Street’s expectations as a supply-chain crunch pressures the sneaker retailer ahead of the holiday shopping season.
Comparable-store sales, a key retail metric, rose 2.2% last quarter, the company said. Analysts had been expecting a gain of 2.9%, according to the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Like many retailers, Foot Locker has faced challenges from transportation logjams in Asia. “We expect global supply-chain constraints to persist throughout the fourth quarter,†Foot Locker Chief Financial Officer Andrew Page said in a statement. However, the retailer believes it is “positioned for the holiday season.â€
The company said demand was robust last quarter, pointing to strong results for the back-to-school shopping season.
In another positive sign, gross margin improved last quarter to 34.7% from 30.9% a year earlier. The company credited more full-price selling, a trend seen across the retail sector.
That boost to profitability helped generate adjusted earnings of $1.93 a share. Analysts expected $1.38 on average.